The work on a steel bridge to connect Banjarumale, one of the remotest village in Dakshina Kannada district, was finally completed.
A concrete bridge connecting the village was washed away in the floods on August 9, thus disconnecting road connectivity and transforming Banjarumale into an island of sorts.
On August 18, PWD engineers constructed a temporary footbridge using precast technology, to connect Banjarumale village in Belthangady taluk at an estimated cost of Rs 5 lakh. The footbridge was tested with 22 people simultaneously standing on the bridge.
On the direction of MLA Harish Poonja, the steel bridge was constructed to facilitate the movement of vehicles which was not possible on the footbridge. The bridge, constructed by Yenepoya Group, can hold up to a load capacity of 30 tonnes. The 30-tonne capacity steel bridge was completed within 15 days. The bridge's length is 12 metres and is 4.5 metres in width. With the construction of the bridge, residents heaved a sigh of relief as vehicles can now reach the village.
There are 48 families residing in Banjarumale. After the collapse of the bridge, villagers had built a ‘pala’ using wooden logs on August 14 in order to cross the overflowing Aniyooru stream.
Meenakshi, a gram panchayat member representing Banjarumale in Neriya Gram panchayat, said there was a path leading through the forest covering six to seven kilometres to Aniyooru. But the path was dangerous and avoided by both women and children.
"The bridge is very useful to us. This will help school going children to travel without any problem. After the collapse of the bridge, 18 schoolchildren could not attend schools for nearly 10 days. We are thankful to MLA, district administration and Yenepoya Group," the villagers said with deep gratitude.