JAWAHARPUR GHAT (West Champaran), July 2 -- It's an early summer morning along the Sikarahana river in Bihar's flood-prone West Champaran district. In one obscure corner, near Jawaharpur Ghat, life in a cluster of villages spread across eight panchayats has begun stirring. Children, some walking and others cycling, head toward school. Men set out for work, while women remain busy with household chores-some washing clothes and utensils along the riverbank. Villagers, school students, and even livestock crowd onto boats with bicycles and motorbikes, braving a daily, risky journey across the river. Located around 32 km north of the district headquarters Bettiah and just 6 km from the Lauriya block headquarters, the villages here, with a population of over 40,000, have long demanded a bridge across the Sikarahana river at Jawaharpur. However, successive governments have shown little interest. The only way to cross is by waterway-often dangerous, especially during monsoons when the river swells and road connectivity collapses. "Let monsoon come. The same river overflows every year, and road access is completely cut off. Life here means wading through water or crossing by boat," said Abu Hozaifa, a local villager, to a Nepali visitor while boarding a boat. Sipahi Choudhary, a resident of Ram Parsauna village and one of the commuters-his leg in a cast-expressed his frustration. "You too have opened wounds which never heal. It's been 25 years since we've been demanding a bridge. Politicians come, make promises, and disappear," he said bitterly, calling it a "gross violation of human rights." Despite several representations to MPs and MLAs and repeated assurances, villagers claim no progress has been made. "We've been suffering since the early 2000s. The road route is long and torturous; the waterway is unsafe. We fear for our children and families, yet have no choice," said another villager. On June 30, human rights activist and former chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, West Champaran, Aditya Kumar, filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), calling the situation a violation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. "The absence of a bridge here is a denial of the right to life and dignity," he said. Students are among the worst affected. Aditi Kumari, a Class IX student of Rajkiya Uchchtar Vidyalaya in Jawaharpur, said, "Our school is just across the river, but taking the road means traveling over 15 km." Class XI student Jugnoo Babu echoed her, calling the road route impractical. HT spotted at least 20 students crossing by boat during a visit. Boatman Jaggu Sah of Maulanagar said around 60 students use the service daily....