Basudevpur: After initial hiccups, construction of a bridge on Mantei River in Bhadrak district got off to a kick start spreading cheer among the local residents, sources said Wednesday. The bridge on the Mantei river, which flows through Basudevpur, Chandbali and Tihidi blocks in Bhadrak district, will benefit lakhs of residents of these three blocks when completed. It will ensure direct connectivity between Bhadrak, Balasore and Kendrapara districts and reduce the distance between these places.
Notably, Mantei River has a fond memory linked to Mahatma Gandhi as he crossed the river on a boat and visited Charbatia village in 1927. The bridge will be constructed at an expense of Rs 60 crore by a private consultancy agency Bekem Infra Projects Private Ltd. Basudevpur block lies on one side of the river while Tihidi and Chandbali blocks are on the opposite side. The river has been termed as the sorrow of the people here as travelling by boats across this river was a risky proposition due to presence of crocodiles in the water body. Several lives have also been lost in the past to boat mishaps in the river. Realising the problems, caretaker Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had given a green signal for the construction of a bridge on the river in public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
As the river was under the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the state government had floated tenders for over 10 times but none of the consultancy agencies were able to take up its construction due to a host of reasons. The bottlenecks in construction of a bridge on the river were removed after Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and former Basudevpur MLA late Bijayshree Routray stepped in. The two made consistent efforts and removed all the bottlenecks that were hindering the construction of the bridge. Routray’s son and former Basudevpur MLA Bishnubrata Routray also continued his father’s efforts. As a result, the foundation stone for the bridge was laid at Karanjaadia in Charbatia, three months back.
In the absence of a bridge, scores of people along with their vehicles cross this river daily by boats endangering their lives to reach their destinations. Balimeda panchayat of Basudevpur block manages the river ghat for one year while Tihidi block does it in the next year. Similarly, hundreds of people also travel from Karanjadia River ghat to their destinations by holding onto a rope of the country boat. Here also, Karanjadia panchayat and Chandbali block alternatively manage the ghat for one year each. While several boat mishaps in the past have claimed the lives of many, the river is infested by crocodiles making it even more dangerous