Post News Network
Daringbadi, Sept 24: Children living in a remote village under Daringbadi block of Kandhamal district will have to cross a river on a tightrope every day to get to school, risking their lives to get there.
The tightrope is now the only way to get across the river; villagers of Gabatabadi say they have lost all hopes of a bridge coming up after it failed to materialise despite being in the wings for more than 15 years.
The villagers tied wire ropes to sturdy trees at both sides of the river and are using it as a makeshift bridge.
The decision to build the tightrope was taken at a village meeting Monday after schoolchildren had to go through a lot of trouble crossing the river during the rains. The students have begun using the new ‘bridge’ from Wednesday.
Villagers say the children are scared to cross the river this way, but given their options (or lack thereof) they will be forced to walk the rope if they have to go to school.
Women who use the rope to go to their farmlands across the river express similar views.
According to reports, a bridge connecting Simanbadi and Gabatabadi is still under construction though the project began 15 years ago. Sources say the construction of the bridge was postponed after three pillars were erected. Officials said it was found that the pillars would be unable to withstand the load of the bridge. Later, soil samples of the area were sent to NIT-Rourkela as locals stepped up their demand for a bridge. The project was finally scrapped as NIT too in its report cautioned against going ahead with the construction of the bridge based on its findings after testing the soil samples.
Residents of Gabatabadi, Kudimunja, Laribadi, K Nuagaon of this block and Baligada, Badabanga and Adagadu villages of K Nuagaon block are the worst-hit. Locals living in the tribal-dominated villages say they have never gained the benefits of any of the multi-crore welfare projects that officials claimed to be executing.
The villagers say multiple attempts to voice their grievances to authorities are in vain as nothing seems to be done.
Meanwhile, allegations have been leveled against some officials by villagers of deliberately scuttling the fate of the bridge project, and demanded a high-level probe into the incident.
Last month, a villager called Bibhisan Pradhan died as his family members couldn’t admit him to a hospital as the river could not be crossed in heavy rain.
Sasmita Pradhan, a Class X girl, said, “We have been unable to go to school from September 15. We have started going to school since Wednesday ever since the tightrope came up. It is risky but that is the only option.”
Francis Pradhan of Gabatbadi village said they would resort to an agitation if a concrete bridge is not laid across the river soon.
