SAMBALPUR: Completion of the bridge project to connect river island of Kud Gunderpur under Dhankauda block with the mainland before the lockdown has come as a boon for the islanders. Prabhanjan Purohit of Kud Gunderpur said the villagers are fortunate that construction work of the bridge was completed before the announcement of 21-day lockdown.
Thanks to the bridge, they are able to access grocery stores and buy essential items during this crisis period. Besides, fertilizers and pesticides are easily available to step up agricultural activities. Kud Gunderpur panchayat, about 35 km from Sambalpur, comprises six villages surrounded by Mahanadi river.
The seven km long and two km wide island is inhabited by around 10,000 villagers who used to depend on country boats to come to the mainland before the bridge came up. Besides, the villagers used boats to ferry patients and pregnant women to the nearby hospital. During monsoon, the island remained cut off from the outer world.