Tribal children's metro day-out in Kochi

KOCHI: It was a day filled with joy, fun and awe for 32 tribal students from Wayanad district when they embarked on their first metro ride on the Kochi Metro Rail on Sunday. 

The children, consisting of 26 girls and 6 boys were here as part of the 'Gothrayanam' project being implemented by the district administration under the leadership of district collector S. Suhas. The project is being implemented to check school drop-out of tribal children. 

The children for the trip were selected on the basis of their attendance in school and excellence in studies. Students had to compete to qualify for the trip. Final selection was made on the basis of the score in exams and attendance.  Apart from the children, 8 teachers and the collector himself was part of the trip, which started off from Aluva at 9 am and ended at Maharaja's Metro Station. 

After the metro ride, the children also visited Mattancherry, and had a boat trip from Marine Drive to Fort Kochi, a visit of the Hill Palace and Cherai beach. They also visited Lulu Mall. The city life and the city folks provided an entirely different experience to the tribal children who were constrained to their dwellings in the forest and the school.