 Gurdas Kumar
Early Times Report
Samba Oct 6: An old dilapidated wooden footbridge over the Basantar river in Karad panchayat of Samba has been posing risk to the lives of the villagers, especially students of the area.
This 100-metre-long bridge was constructed nearly 40 years ago and provides connectivity to four villages with Samba. It is now in a dilapidated condition, but continues to be the lifeline for many villagers living across the Basantar River.
"The bridge provides connectivity to 250 families of Reyor, Jatah, Leyan and Nandh villages with Samba. The dilapidated bridge is a threat for children and elderly people, especially when the Basanter River is flooded. The government has failed to fulfil the demand even though hundreds of people use this bridge on daily basis," said Ranjeet Singh, sarpanch of Karad panchayat in Samba.
The tendering process was completed a few years ago, but the work is yet to be started. The locals of the area had been undertaking repair works on their own, whenever needed, as the authorities had ignored the area, he said. "The condition of the bridge is going from bad to worse with every passing day. For the past many years, we have been running from pillar to post and urging the authorities to reconstruct the bridge, but authorities concerned are not serious about the plight of people," said Suraj Parkash, a local.
A new cement or steel bridge should be constructed without any further delay to avoid any loss of life, he demanded.
"The tendering process had been completed and the construction work for the bridge would be started soon with an estimated cost of Rs 25 lakh," said DK Rampaul, Executive Engineer, PWD. |
