Goemkarponn desk
VALPOI: Almost 45 days after the floods washed away the Paikul bridge in Sattari taluka, the Water Resources Department (WRD) has finally constructed a temporary footbridge for the convenience of the villagers who were cut off from the mainland.
The bridge collapsed due to floods in Sattari taluka in July, making it difficult for the villagers to commute.
WRD has now completed the construction of a temporary footbridge at Murmune embankment with iron planks.
Citizens will be able to commute safely from this footbridge, and the villagers have expressed their satisfaction over the work.
Similarly, sources said the construction of a new bridge has been undertaken at Paikul, and the government has announced that the new bridge will be constructed at the cost of Rs 12.50 crore.
A tender in this regard will be floated soon as the State Cabinet has approved the bridge.
After the bridge collapse, the Paikul village was completely disconnected from the other villages; as such, the villagers faced many problems. Hence it was decided by authorities to initially make a temporary arrangement till a new bridge is constructed.
It is learnt that after the Chief Engineer WRD, Pramod Badami, gave instructions to the department in this regard, Assistant Engineer Shailesh Pokale, Junior Engineer Aziz Shah, Pawan Warak and others started work on war-footing to complete the footbridge in 20 days.
When contacted, Shailesh Pokale said that strong iron planks have been laid on the embankment.
“The bridge has been secured with iron pipes on both sides for people’s safety,” he said.
Tender for new bridge soon….
Meanwhile, the government has approved constructing a new bridge over the Ragada river for Paikul village at Rs 12.50 crore.
The previous bridge was narrow in size. Now the new bridge will be 3.50 meters wide, and a tender will be issued soon.
The new bridge will alleviate the problems in the village.
Meanwhile, Sattari Mamlatdar Dashrath Gawas said that the basic facilities have been started in these villages.
“The fair price shops have been provided with the quote of ration. Also, the Bondla route is currently being used to reach the village,” he said.
Dashrath Gawas clarified that the same road will be used in the rainy season until a new bridge is constructed.
