John Wilbert & Saurabh Singh
Port Blair, Sep 07: Several difficulties owing to the non-existence of the basic infrastructures in their village, the residents of a remote village under Gram Panchayat Shivapuram, Middle Andaman have come up with an issue that has severely affected their day-to-day life.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha, Mr. Venkateshwar Rao, Pradhan, GP Shivapuram said that nearly four years ago when the Thorangatang bridge had collapsed, people started using the TV Kulam Bridge for vehicular movement. Subsequently, over the period the bridge started attaining damages and APWD and District Administration blocked the bridge byplacing barricades on both sides and only people movement and two-wheeler movement was allowed.
He said that over the years the Gram Panchayat Shivapuram has written to APWD and District Administration to construct a new bridge but due to no response the village is now totally cut off from the mainstream of development and the villagers are still leading hardship mainly due to a damaged old steel bridge that was constructed by APWD and was a lifeline for the villagers.
The bridge has been closed for nearly four years due to its fragile condition . As the bridge is closed with welding bars to prevent the entrance of all vehicles, owing to which the residents of the village are forced to take a long detour of 02 km through an alternative Bridge for transportation and medical emergencies.
When Andaman Sheekha Daily contacted a senior officer of the APWD, it was informed that they are aware of the matter and mentioned that the steel bridge over the Shivapuram Creek is closed from both sides to avoid any casualties. Therefore, village people are using another bridge in Shantipur which is connected to Shivapuram.
The officer said that the cost of the heavy iron bridge is high and the department has to process a tender to repair it completely. “The file has been processed and as soon as the department gets approval from the A&N Administration the repair work will start”, the officer added.
Meanwhile, for villagers of the area, everyday is a struggle as they have to travel a long distance to cross the Shivapuram Creek. They urged the Administration to clear all files regarding the tendering process for repair of the bridge as soon as possible.
