For the past few months, residents of four villages in Vikramgadh taluka of Palghar district — Balapur (Thakrepada, Hujadpada, Bhandarpada and Kapripada) — have been using a rickety wooden ladder to cross a bridge over the Chikli river to reach Kegwa village located on the other side. Reason being the bridge has been left incomplete since March this year after the Public Works Department (PWD) Thane demolished an older bridge to construct the new one. Meanwhile, PWD Thane has no answer as to why there was a delay.
Rahul Wadekar, a resident of Balapur and a farmer by profession, said that the wooden ladder was being used by all, including the elderly, women and children to step down from the incomplete bridge and wade through water while stepping on sharp stones to cross over to Kegwa village. With the nearest school being in Kegwa, it was awful to see kids balancing their satchels to step down the ladder and cross over to Kegwa village, said Narendra Patil, another resident. He added that the villagers were wary of ferrying sick and old people as well as pregnant women to Kegwa Primary Health Centre (PHC) in such a dangerous manner.
To make matters worse, the river had swollen due to the monsoon and it was doubly risky to even cross the semi-finished bridge but they had to do so as their children needed to go to school in Kegwa village. “Sometimes, children skip school to avoid using the bridge and therefore, their attendance and studies are badly affected,” lamented Mr Patil. He added that while it was still bearable using the wooden ladder during summer, in the rainy season, chances of children and women slipping and falling were greater. About the under-construction bridge, he said that they could already see the base giving way due to poor civic construction and use of poor quality construction materials.
Meanwhile, S. Sasane, Divisional Engineer, PWD, Thane, refused to comment and said he was on leave due to a marriage in his family and would comment only after resuming office. Until such time, he promised to provide the numbers of another officer which too he did not do.
