Bhadrak: Overcrowded boats ferrying people with support of a hanging rope is a routine scene at Charibatia ghat of river Mantei in Chandbali block of Bhadrak district.
Their daily plight is ascribed to the absence of a bridge across the river. Mishaps often occur during boat rides, but the administration has allegedly turned a blind eye to the issue.
People in riparian pockets in Basudevpur, Tihidi and Chandbali blocks have long been suffering from commuting woes in the absence of a bridge.
With boats, the ghat provides a major shortcut route for people to different places of the three blocks.
Residents of villages like Balimunda, Bideipur, Kismatkrushnapur, Laxmidaspur, Balimeda, Jagannathprasad, Padmapur, Sugo, Edatal, Lunga under Basudevur block, Sahada, Sabaranga and Goramati under Bhadrak block and several villages under Tihidi and Chandbali block have no option other than travelling in country boats daily from this ghat.
Locals said this is the place where Mahatma Gandhi had crossed the river and spent night at Charibatia during the freedom struggle against the British rule.
The state government has declared this place as Gandhi Smaraki Peetha. The East India Company used this river and ghat for cargo transportation, particularly from Charibatia ghat to Jamkunda in Balasore. A sluice gate built by the British government stands testimony to the maritime history of the region.
The sluice gate is still intact. Locals lamented that such a long used maritime route has been neglected with people having to suffer a lot while commuting.
A rope has been hanging across the river and the boatmen oar the boats by clutching the rope, they pointed out.
“We have a constant fear of drowning. But with no other option we have been dependent on this facility for the last 25 years,” a local resident said.
Some locals blame official apathy for the delay in the construction of bridge project. Tenders have been floated for the project in the past, but no contractors have shown interest in taking up the work.
The boat rides are always fraught with risk while mishaps have occurred in the past as safety measures have been thrown to the winds.
Last years, a boat had drowned along with a biker and his bike. He was rescued later.
Now, as COVID-19 infections continue to increase, adhering to social distancing norms during boat rides is impossible.
Locals alleged there have been no efforts for construction of a bridge.
When asked about the bridge project, PD (DRDA) Madhusudan Das said tenders have been floated several times for the bridge construction in the past, but no contractors are taking part in the bidding process because of low bidding price.
