While several instances of students facing problems for online classes owing to poor mobile network and internet service are being reported from the State’s rural areas, peculiar scenes of students perching themselves on tree branches near the capital city Bhubaneswar have also now come to the fore.

Only 15 km from city, students of Chudangagada, Chunukoli, Bangali Basti, Andharua, Bhalunka, Godibari, Gaintala, Jhumuka and Adibasi Sahi near Deras within and around the Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary are struggling hard for online classes.

With no other option, while some students climb trees, others move to hills everyday to attend online classes. Putting their lives at risk, they sit on tree branches balancing their bodies or on the heights to get stable mobile network.

Some young volunteers have come forward to help these hapless students. Using their personal internet data, the youths download videos and documents sent by schoolteachers during online classes and also teach the students through their mobile phones and laptops.

Volunteers Pradeep Murmu,  Rajendra Nachika, Hem Singh, Madhi Tudu and their team also sometimes visit door to door to help the children in their studies. However, it is not possible to reach out to all students, said one of the volunteers.

Earlier, issues of poor mobile network posing great difficulty for students during online classes have been reported  from remote interior districts like Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Koraput, Jharsuguda and Ganjam,