Children of landslide-hit schools in Kerala welcome new academic year with hope

They ushered in the new academic year by singing songs and reliving cherished memories with friends and teachers.

The newly painted classrooms offered a clean slate, devoid of any reminders of the landslide which battered their hamlets nearly a year ago.

On the reopening day of their school on Monday, children of Mundakkai and Vellarmala schools, which were impacted by the deadly landslide last July, embraced the new academic year with hope and happiness.

As many as 16 new students joined the state-run Mundakkai Lower Primary School, while Vellarmala Vocational Higher Secondary School welcomed 49 new students.

Both schools were destroyed in the landslides and have been operating out of a state-run school in Meppadi here for some time.

'We are very much excited to come back to the classroom and meet our friends and teachers again,'' one of the students of Vellarmala school, which was adorned with festoons and balloons, said.

Adding to the celebratory mood, a voluntary organisation generously distributed bags and study materials to the children of both these schools, sources said.

Meanwhile, Congress leader and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi extended greetings to the students and teachers' community across the state on the occasion.

In a statement, she congratulated Munderi Higher Secondary School in Kalpetta, which became the venue for the ''Praveshanotsavam'', the school reopening ceremony at the district level, on Monday.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)