Putting their lives in jeopardy, residents of several villages under Bari, Rasulpur, Sadar blocks in Jajpur district are forced to commute on boats due to inordinate delay in the completion of Biju Setu over Brahmani river near Bramhabarada village.
Local people have expressed their resentment over the tardy progress in the construction work. Though the foundation stone of the bridge was laid in 2016, it is yet to be completed even after seven years due to the carelessness and lackadaisical attitude of the contractor and the district administration.
“It is quite unfortunate that the construction of the bridge has not been completed even nearly after eight years. Villagers of 10 gram panchayats face lots of problems due to the absence of a bridge. Students, elderly people, and patients have to cross the overflowing river dangerously during the rainy season to go to schools, colleges, markets, hospitals, and for other important works,” said Gopal Pati, a local resident.
“We often miss our classes in college as we are dependent on boats to cross the river. Had the bridge been completed, we would not have missed our classes,” said Mitali Madhusmita Sahu, a student.
The construction of the bridge started with an estimate of Rs 11 crore. There was a deadline to complete the construction work within three years. However, only six spans of the bridge have been completed so far.
“We urge the district administration to step up and order the contractor to finish the construction of the bridge at the earliest,” said Hemant Kumar Sahu, another local resident.
Meanwhile, the Executive Engineer of Jajpur Rural Development Department, Gyanaranjan Nayak assured that the bridge work will be completed by December this year.
“The delay in the construction work was mainly due to the land acquisition issues. There were also little bit technical problems. We have consulted the bridge experts and things have been sorted out. Hopefully, the bridge work will be completed by December this year,” said Nayak.