ROURKELA: Two bamboo bridges over river Koel connecting several gram panchayats of Kuanrmunda and Nuagaon blocks with the Rourkela city have been washed away amid rise in water level in the river.
In no time, two ferry boats were arranged by two villagers, but the Sundargarh administration is not ready to allow them to ferry the people in the wake of recent Hirakud boat tragedy.
The bamboo bridge at Pasra connecting Kuanrmunda block along with a similar bridge at Mitkundri connecting Nuagaon
block were washed away recently.
Apparently, these bridges were the only connecting link of the villages with Rourkela. With no alternative for movement of thousands of villagers, two villagers started operating the boats on Thursday without permission of the administration.
Panposh Sub-Collector SB Mishra said licences have not been issued to the boat owners and the local Tehsildars have been directed to stop the boat services in view of safety measures.
Villagers, meanwhile, are caught between the devil and the deep sea as boat services are the only option left for them.