A five-month-old wooden bridge over river Braahmani collapsed at Kalara village under Rasulpur block in Jajpur districton Sunday when a chips-laden tractor was passing on it.
As a result of this, around 25 villages of Rasulpur and Dharmasala blocks were totally cut off from the main land. The villagers of Barabati, Kalana, Kustira and other riverside residents depended on this bridge. The authorities used substandard wood to build the bridge, for which it collapsed, alleged Madan Jena of Barabati. When contacted, Dharmasala Roads and Buildings Junior Engineer Pramod Kumar Samal said, “We built this one-km-long bridge at a cost of Rs 12 lakh five months back. It was meant for pedestrians, but the bridge was also used by tractors and other heavy vehicles, for which the bridge caved in. We will soon repair the bridge.”