UMERKOTE: For inhabitants of six panchayats in Kosagumuda block, all their answers for health, education and all other basic needs are answered in Nabarangpur town. The district headquarters town is not very far but not easily accessible either. Same is the story for people of two panchayats of Kotpad block of neighbouring Koraput who are dependent on Nabarangpur for every major issue.
Yet it is an arduous 40-km travel because the State government cannot just seem to push the proposed bridge over Indravati which would, otherwise, ease their suffering and anxiety in the times of emergencies.
Five years have elapsed since foundation stone was laid for the proposed bridge by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over Indravati in Nabarangpur’s Chirma village but the project has not seen a single pillar yet.
Kosagumuda and Kotpad are just over 40 km from Nabarangpur and if the bridge comes into existence, the distance will come down by 15-20 km for both the blocks. But in absence of the bridge or even an alternative road, around 26,000 villagers from six panchayats - Chirma, Farsaguda, Asanga, Kodinga, Karchamal and Madege - in Kosagumuda, and 12,000 from Girla and Gumuda panchayats of Kotpad are at mercy of the administration.
In absence of proper connectivity, people from Kosagumuda used to travel for over 42 km to reach Nabarangpur town by taking an alternate route via Dabugam and Papadakhandi. Eight years back, villagers of Chirma made a makeshift bridge with wooden planks to cross the river. But when the water level rises during the monsoon, the bridge submerges and commuting becomes risky.
Villagers had hoped that the proposed bridge, once operational, would become their lifeline but now their hopes are dashed. The district administration too had provided a boat 10 years back but it has fallen into disuse.
In 2016, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid foundation stone for the bridge. The project, estimated at Rs 16.30 crore, was supposed to be completed by 2018. The deadline was later extended to 2019. As the contractor left work midway, another contractor took up the work and was expected to complete the bridge construction by February 2021.
But in five years, not a single pillar out of nine for the bridge has been completed. Until 2019, Rs 2.43 crore was spent on the bridge work. But with tender of the current contractor ending in February, official sources said a fresh one has been floated with a revised estimate of Rs 12.54 crore. Executive Engineer of Rural Development department in Nabarangpur, Sudam Charan Mohapatra said efforts are on to ensure work is completed in 2021.