Tikiri: People in Kashipur block of Rayagada district have long been facing commuting problems as a bridge construction across Kuchingguda river at Toyaput village has remained incomplete for the last five years.
According to reports, the works department started construction of the bridge in 2016, but its work has been left halfway. In such a condition, people have no way but to commute on an old bridge risking their lives.
The old bridge is in bad shape, locals said. They pointed out that as heavy vehicles ply on this bridge, major mishap cannot be ruled out any time. “If anything happens, communication to Kashipur will be completely disrupted.
The construction of the bridge should be expedited and completed as soon as possible,” they said.
In 2016, when its construction work was started, locals hoped that their commuting problem would be over soon, but the contractor has been delaying its work.
People of Toyaput lamented that as long as the bridge work is incomplete, they will be facing a lot of problems. The cost of the bridge project was then estimated at Rs 3.67 crore.
It was instructed that the work should be completed in a year. “But five years have passed, it is nowhere near completion,” locals said. The department has attributed the delay in bridge construction to a change in its design.
The delay in approval of the design has led to delay in its completion. Contacted, executive engineer of the works department, Jamuna Behera said that due to design change of the bridge, a proposal was sent to the state government.
“The delay in its construction is due to delay in approval from the government side. If it does not rain, the work will be resumed soon,” he explained.
PNN