Bihar: 35-Ft Bridge Built In Open Field In Araria Without Road Access; DM Seeks Report
The bridge was built as part of CM's Gramin Sadak scheme and was meant to allow water passage from one side of the field to the other, even after the construction of a road.
Araria, Bihar: The district administration is seeking a report from the Rural Works department in Bihar after the construction of a 35-foot bridge in an open field at a village in Araria district's Raniganj raised eyebrows for being built without any sign of a road connecting to it on either side.
Under the CM Gramin Sadak scheme, work was started to build a 2.5-km road in Parmanandpur village. However, the process of land acquisition from local farmers had not been completed, The Indian Express reported.
This bridge, which was meant to allow water passage from one side of the field to the other, even after the construction of a road, was also supposed to be part of this project. Since the land for the road had not been acquired, it was not yet built. But, the land where the bridge stands had already been acquired.
A Rural Works department official told The Indian Express that the department constructed the 35-foot bridge first at the piece of land it managed to acquire, rather than first acquiring the entire land and beginning with the construction of the road.
'Rural Works Department Did Not Proceed In Rational Manner'
"The Rural Works department showed little interest in going ahead with the project in a rational manner," the department official said.
Residents of the village, who had little idea about the project, were baffled by the bridge's construction in the middle of the field.
Krityanand Mandal, a resident, said: "This culvert was constructed about six months ago. We thought it could be part of some big project, but when no further work was done and there was no hint of any future planning either, we wanted to bring it to the government’s notice."
Meanwhile, Araria District Magistrate Inayat Khan said, "I have sought a detailed project report from the Rural Works department’s engineers. We want to know if the work was being done as per alignment."
"Though we are waiting for a detailed report to know the full truth, it looks like work was started from mid-point. In any case, we will get to know the status of the project soon," the DM added.
The exact value of the project is unknown yet as it will be assessed once the land acquisition will be completed.
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