Saintala: Five years have elapsed since the start of construction of a bridge on Lanth river under this block in Bolangir district began. However, the construction is yet to be completed, a report said. Work to build the bridge has been suspended for a long time now, without any indication when it will begin again. Lanth river incidentally is a distributary of Tel river which is a tributary of Mahanadi.
More than five years back, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone for the bridge. However, still it remains unfinished. This has sparked resentment among the residents. They apprehend that this year there is hardly any chance that construction will be completed as monsoon is about to set in the state.
Left with no option, the residents continue to use the dry riverbed to travel to the other side of the river during summer. They are however worried that they will not be able to do so with the advent of monsoon.
Reports said residents of Ambapali, Dunguripali, Kansar, Ghunasar under Saintala block and Belakhandi and Rishida of neighbouring Kalahandi district have to cross the river daily for earning their livelihood. In summer, going to the other side is not a problem as the river dries up for four months of the year. However, the remaining eight months crossing the river becomes a difficult proposition as it is filled to the brim.
The Odisha government considering the difficulties of the people decided to construct a bridge on the river at Badipada in the block under Biju Setu Yojana scheme. Later Patnaik laid the foundation of the bridge to be built at a cost of Rs 14 crore under the supervision of Rural Development department.
A consultancy agency in Kalahandi district received the contract and started construction in January 15, 2016. Even though the deadline for finishing the work was set for May 14, 2018, it remained incomplete. The agency only put up three slabs and was yet to start works on the three columns. The Odisha government then floated fresh tenders for construction of the bridge as the agency failed to complete the work despite being given more than three years.
Sradhakar Das, junior engineer of Rural Development department said that a fresh tender of Rs 8 crore has been floated which will be awarded to a new agency once the Covid-19 induced lockdown is lifted. The new agency will do the remaining work and we are hoping that the construction will be completed within the next few months.
Notably, residents in 2019 had staged a road blockade on National Highway-26 demanding that construction of the bridge be completed before the start of the rainy season. They relented after the then Titilagarh sub-collector reached the spot and assured them that their demand will be looked into. However, since then there has not been any development.
Similarly, Rural Development and Labour Minister Susant Singh during an official trip to Saintala, had promised to the locals that construction of the bridge will be completed quickly. However, despite a host of promises the bridge still remains a pipe dream for the residents.
PNN