Hundreds of students have to swim through a river to go to school

The Gujarat government has been asked to explain in four weeks why nearly 100 children are forced to swim a river every day to get to school.The explanation has been sought by the National Human Rights Commission which cited media reports on the children.The rights group said that the children's right to education and safety are being violated.Last month, NDTV and other media reported that the children from a cluster of tribal villages in central Gujarat plunge every morning into a river, holding onto brass pots, to get to the other side, where the only school in the region is located.By road, the school is 20 kilometres away in the Chhota Udepur district. Parents take turns supervising the children's swim.

Villagers have been demanding that a bridge be constructed.