Dilapidated bridge over Basantar poses threat to Samba villa

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
A dilapidated footbridge over the Basantar river in the Karad panchayat area of Samba is posing risk to the lives of the villagers, especially students.
This 100-metre-long wooden bridge was constructed nearly 40 years ago and provides connectivity to four villages. The dilapidated link, however, continues to be the lifeline for many villagers living across the river.
“The bridge provides connectivity to 250 families of Reyor, Jatah, Leyan and Nandh villages. The dilapidated bridge is a threat to children and old, especially when the Basanter is flooded. The government has failed to rebuild the bridge even though hundreds of people use it on daily basis,” said Karad sarpanch Ranjeet Singh.
“The tendering process for the construction of the bridge was completed a few years ago, but the work is yet to be started. The locals had been undertaking repair works on their own as the authorities have ignored the area,” Singh alleged.
“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 to get the vital link reconstructed, but the 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.
Executive Engineer, PWD, DK Rampaul, meanwhile, said: “The tendering process had been completed and construction work on the bridge will start soon.”
 
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