Rabindranath Biswas
Swadesh Nagar, Oct. 06: The river without a bridge in Lakhi Nallah village under Gram Panchayat Swadesh Nagar has claimed yet another life yesterday. According to reports, a resident of Dharmapur village (under GP Shivapuram) lost his life while crossing the swollen river.
Lakhi Nallah, a remote hamlet under Gram Panchayat Swadesh Nagar, remains cut off from the rest of the world — not just by distance, but by years of government neglect. For the residents of the village, little has changed — despite successive governments and tall promises, locals rued.
There was a function at a resident’s house in Lakhi Nallah yesterday, and four invitees were returning home in the afternoon. While returning, they found that the river was gradually swelling due to continuous rainfall; however, they thought they could manage to swim across. It was around 5:00 p.m. when darkness started to fall.
As the night approached, three of the four men attempted to cross the river, while one stayed back on the bank. Out of the three, two managed to cross safely, but one man went missing midway. They shouted for him but received no response, fearing he had been swept away by the strong current. After reaching the other side, the two men informed the police about the incident.
The police then passed the information to the Pradhan of GP Swadesh Nagar, Mr. Debarata Biswas, and a search operation was launched using dinghies along with locals. The operation continued till 11:00 p.m. but yielded no result. The police resumed the search early this morning around 6:00 a.m., and at around 9:00 a.m., they recovered the body of Mr. Barun Mazumder (57), a resident of Dharmapur, Shivapuram.
The tragedy has sparked outrage among villagers, who alleged that the absence of a bridge has once again cost an innocent life.
Speaking to Andaman Sheekha Daily, Pradhan Mr. Debarata Biswas claimed that this was the 15th death in this nallah, as 14 others had lost their lives earlier due to similar circumstances. “It is only because there is still no bridge across this deadly river,” he lamented.
When asked about the delay, the Pradhan said that the construction of the bridge began in 2019 but was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After a long pause, the work was supposed to resume, but the approach road required for connectivity demanded land allocation by the Revenue Department. Due to the prolonged delay in land clearance, the construction work could not resume, he added.
Amidst this, locals have renewed their demand for immediate construction of the bridge to ensure safe access to education, healthcare, and livelihood. “If the bridge isn’t built soon, every monsoon season will claim more lives,” they warned.
