MANGALURU: For the last three days, residents of Pavoor-Uliya island on the outskirts of Mangaluru are busy constructing a temporary bridge across the Netravathi river spending Rs 22 lakh for the third time since 2017. As many as 52 families reside on the island.
The bridge has to be dismantled each year during the monsoon as the river flows in full spate. In 2017, the residents decided to construct a temporary bridge after their repeated pleas to elected representatives and district administration fell on deaf ears. They spent Rs18 lakh on the same. In 2018, they once again built the bridge leveraging Rs 2 lakh.
Braving the river current, the villagers were seen laying wooden planks using boats to construct the bridge on Friday. While more than 50% of the work is complete, the villagers say the bridge will be ready in a day or two.
The parish priest of Pavoor-Uliya Church Gerald Lobo said MLA U T Khader promised them of constructing a permanent bridge. Things started to pick up pace after Lobo wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office. Later, the district administration sent a Rs 5-crore proposal to the state government for the bridge. However, nothing has changed on the ground, allege villagers. Repeated attempts by TNIE to reach Khader over phone failed to illicit a response.
“If there is no bridge, people have to cross the river by boats to reach the city. Students and the elderly too have to cross the river by boats. The government has let us down. Bridge is a basic right and it has been denied. This is sad,” Gilbert D’souza, a resident who is part of the construction team said.