Puri: Around 40 students took a boat ride to appear for the Odisha annual matriculation examination at Talada under Astaranga block in Odisha’s Puri district on Friday.
The students were seen crossing the river with other vehicles on the boat. They did not have life jackets while crossing the river.
The students were going to Surendranath Vidyapitha examination centre in Sundara village to appear for the annual High School Certificate Examination, which kicked off on Friday. All students have been studying in the Padhiari Vidyapitha of Adabansa village.
The distance between Adabansa and Sundara villages is around 10 km. In the absence of a connecting road between the two villages, the students had to cross the river.
Sources said the students face many problems appearing for the exams. They have to go to the centre much before the scheduled time.
Notably, construction on the Biju Setu started in 2014. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone for the bridge. But the work is still on. It could take around a year for construction to get over.
