Jhapa, Sept. 2 -- Every monsoon, life across the Mechi river on Nepal's eastern border with India comes to a standstill. For the 35 families living in three settlements-Gwalabasti, Sisaudangi and Jhadubasti-in ward 15 of Mechinagar Municipality in Jhapa district, the floods not only wash away crops and utility poles, but also close the only school for months.

The Mechi Primary School, set up in 2000 to extend education to this isolated area known as "Nepal across the Mechi," runs classes up to grade two. But without a bridge over the river, the school closes as soon as the monsoon swells the current. This year, though schools across the district reopened after the summer vacation on August 10, Mechi Primary has yet to resume classes.

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