Promises by political leaders notwithstanding, the much-needed Baliapal ghat bridge over river Montei has remained a distant dream for the people here. The only respite for them are the dangerous rickety boats that are operated with the help of ropes.
In view the operation of Dhamra port, a bridge over the river at Baliapal ghat in Chandbali block is the need of the hour. In fact, the bridge has been an age-old demand of the people of Basudevpur and Chandbali blocks.
Thousands of people of over 10 panchayats in both the blocks cross river Montei daily using country boats from Baliapal ghat under Nayakandi police limits. Traffic at the ghat has also increased in the last few years as the Bhadrak-Chandbali road is under construction, said Sarpanch Badal Majhi.
The people use rope-operated boats to cross the river, which separates Basudevpur and Chandbali, to reach places on the other side of the river. Though they find it extremely dangerous to use the boats, they have no other option. This arrangement stops during the monsoon when the river is in spate.
The country boats are operated with the help of ropes that are tied on both sides of the river. The boatman pulls the rope to ply the boat. “The river is deep in this area and due to the tidal effect, we have to tie ropes on both sides of the river to ply,” said Sukanta Majhi, a boatman.
The Revenue Department calls auction to ply boats at Baliapal ghat annually. This year, a man from Gopinathpur panchayat has won the auction at a cost of Rs 4.44 lakh. Proposal to construct a bridge over river Montei at Baliapal ghat was mooted by the State Government several decades back and the project was included under Rural Infrastructure Development Programme (RIDP). Road and Building (R & B) division was entrusted the responsibility to carry out the project, said Ajaya Nayak, member of Chandabali Zilla Parishad. However, no work has begun on the bridge yet.
People said if the State Government cannot construct the bridge, it should at least replace the country boats with either engine boats or launch service. Executive Engineer of the R & B division Bibhu Kishore Mohanty said he has no information or proposal papers regarding construction of the Baliapal ghat bridge.