Ignored by govt, Odisha villagers build bridge on their own every year

After their pleas for a bridge fell on deaf ears, residents of Baraguda village in Odisha's Nabrangpur district pool in money every year to build a temporary bridge made of wooden logs.

Nabrangpur (Odisha): Fed up with government inaction towards their woes, residents of a village in Odisha have been opting for self-help every year, building a temporary wooden bridge across a canal.

The tiny village of Baraguda in Odisha's Nabrangpur district has around 300 residents, who have to cross a canal to get to the village of Gunipara, which connects to the main metalled road and also has facilities like schools and markets.

Despite several requests by the villagers for a bridge, neither the block office nor the district administration has responded to their woes.

Fed up with the inaction, villagers themselves pool in money every year and build a temporary bridge made of wooden logs.

Though getting to Gunipara is easy during the dry months as the canal is parched, during monsoons, villagers are forced to wade through water in the absence of a bridge.

However, crossing the canal becomes extremely risky, especially for school-going children and patients who have to get to the hospital.

Read: Odisha: Residents demand rail over bridge in Jharsuguda