BERHAMPUR: The wait for a permanent bridge over river Bansadhara at Gumuda village in Rayagada district seems to be unending. Although a wooden bridge has been constructed, it does not serve the purpose during monsoon. Due to rain, the wooden bridge was dismantled on Wednesday.
The bridge over the river was washed away in flood in August, 2007. Although construction of a permanent bridge was started, it was stopped mid-way. The bridge is a part of the State Highway 17. It was the lifeline for 40,000 people of villages in Gudari, Padmapur and Ramnaguda blocks.
It served as the shortest route between Berhampur and Rayagada. Currently, one has to cover an additional 38 km to 93 km to reach Rayagada through alternative routes. The distance between Berhampur and Rayagada via Gumuda bridge was 207 km. For the additional distance, most of the buses, both Government and private, have stopped plying on the route. Till 2007, around 30 OSRTC and 35 private buses were operating on the route but at present, only six OSRTC and nine private buses ply.
For construction of a new bridge of 720 metres at a cost of Rs 27 crore, a tender was floated by the local administration in 2009 and the work entrusted to ARSS.
The construction company started the work in 2010 with an assurance to complete it by 2012. However, till 2014, it took three extensions of the deadline and finally scheduled to complete the bridge by June this year. Sources said the company has again sought another extension of one year on the plea of monsoon and snags in its equipment. Due to delay in the work, the project cost has escalated to Rs 50 crore with just half of the bridge being completed so far.
Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD), Gauranga Charan Sahu said so far, construction of nine spans of the bridge have been completed. “ARSS has asked for an extension of one more year. In such circumstances, the Government usually penalises the construction company before allowing it an extension,” he said.
As far as the wooden bridge is concerned, the PWD constructs it once in every six months. As it is unsafe during the monsoon, the bridge is dismantled before the onset of monsoon and locals depend on country boats.