Kalinganagar: Risking their lives every day, commuters are forced to cross the Brahmani bridge that is lying in a dilapidated condition, reports said.
Locals alleged that no repair work of the bridge has been carried out for last 60 years, but the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) seems to be indifferent to the sufferings of people.
The condition of the bridge has turned worse following heavy rainfall. However, the residents have no choice but to use the bridge, more often putting their lives in risk. The Citizen Forum held a discussion in this regard and submitted a written memorandum in favour of the NHAI, highlighting the problem. A copy of the complaint has also been sent to Jajpur Collector.
According to reports, hundreds of trucks loaded with raw materials come to Kalinganagar industrial area, plying on the bridge on a daily basis. However, there has been no maintenance of the bridge following which portions of the safety wall have been damaged. People have replaced the safety walls with pieces of bamboo.
Similarly, concrete slabs put on the pavements for pedestrians to walk have also been destroyed, posing threat to the lives of commuters and cattle. Hence, accidents are common on this bridge.
In bid to avoid accidents, locals have placed effigies at the accident-prone places of the bridge.
As per guidelines, repair work of a bridge should be carried out once every 20 years. But such guidelines have been ignored in the case of Brahmani bridge, it was alleged.
Locals also alleged that there are 150 bearings among 30 spans of the bridge. While only 20 of them have been replaced so far, 130 are in need of replacement.
PNN