Ganjam: Fed up with the administration’s apathy, the residents of Niladripur village under Palibandh panchayat in this district stood united and built a wooden bridge across a canal all by themselves Friday.
After waiting for the administration to construct the bridge for years, they finally took upon by themselves the task.
The bridge will now cut short their journey and help students reach schools and colleges safely, locals said.
According to sources, the village is home to over 200 families. In the absence of a bridge, the residents had to cross a canal to reach to the block headquarters. They faced many problems crossing the canal with children and women being the worst sufferers.
After several pleas by the villagers, then local MP Chandrasekhar Sahu laid the foundation stone for a bridge across the canal. However, till now not a single official visited the site. The administration paid no heed to the repeated requests of the locals in this regard.
Finally, the locals convened a meeting and decided to construct a temporary bridge all by themselves. They contributed money and labour as per their capabilities and successfully constructed the wooden bridge. Although the bridge is a temporary one, it will help the locals for at least a year.
Till then, we will try to attract the administration’s attention, said village committee president Raghunath Pradhan and villagers Dharmaraj Swain, Gura Chatei, Chakrapani Pradhan, Nari Sahu, Biranchi Narayan Swain and Pitabash Behera.
All the locals extended their helping hand and contributed to the building of the bridge, Pradhan said. “It is a very proud moment for us and our children,” he added. PNN
