Rajnagar: Over 120 students of four villages in Chandibaunshamula panchayat in Kendrapara district continue to tread over a makeshift bridge to cross crocodile-infested river Halapata to reach their schools.
Residents of Dholamara, Kusunupur, Lokanathprasad and Palanda villages under Rajnagar block use this bamboo bridge as they do not have an alternative route while a permanent bridge is yet to come up across the river which is a tributary of Hansua.
This has happened as the rural development department which laid the foundation stone for a bridge March 3, 2014 at an outlay of `1.55 crore is yet to start the construction work.
It is a daily affair for the villagers for whom nothing has changed even after 70 years of Independence.
Their hearts pound with fear when their children hold on tightly to the bamboo poles and cautiously walk on the bridge to reach their schools on the other side of the river.
Sri Jagannath High School, Savitri Devi Girls’ School, Lakhsminarayan Sanskrit School, Utkalmani Sishu Mandir and Nalinikanta College are situated on the other side of the river.
To cross this river the students first have to wade through knee-deep water for over 10 metre before stepping on the bamboo bridge. The bridge always remains wet and soiled as the commuters have to first wade through the water.
This makes the bridge slippery and a slip on the part of the commuters might land them in the river where crocodiles are waiting to prey on them. There were instances when kids have fallen into the river.
In the latest incident, two Class–IX girl students, Madhusmita Mohanty and Pragyansmita Mohanty, of Palanda village fell into the river while crossing the bridge. However, they had a providential escape after people present on the riverbank rescued them. The incident has triggered tension among the villagers.
Students Karishma Mohanty of Palanda village, Baisakhi Biswal, Subhradipti Biswal, Ranjita Patra and Ananya Rout of Dholamara and Saraswati Padhi of Kusunpur said they have become fed up with the perilous path to their schools.
Their uniforms get wet and even at times their school bags drop into the river while crossing the bridge.
The junior engineer of rural development department said the bridge work has been delayed by the contractor. PNN