The age-old bridge over the Budhabalanga river in the north of Baleswar district headquarters near Fuladi has been lying in a dilapidated condition for years posing threat to commuters.
The British-era bridge, also known as loha Pola, is the entry and exit route of the Old Trunk Road, formerly known as Jagannath Sadak. Hence, hundreds of vehicles ply on it despite its awful state. Expressing concern over this, the district BJP unit has submitted a memorandum to the district Collector seeking repair and maintenance of the bridge.
There are a number of potholes on the surface of the bridge while the iron bar fence on its either sides have been rusted by corrosive effects.
It shakes when heavy passenger or goods-loaded vehicles pass on it raising chances of severe road accidents. Hence, this needs immediate attention of the concerned department as well as district administration, said BJP district president Madan Mohan Dutta.
When asked, Baleswar MP RK Jena said, “There won’t be any repair with the existing one. Rather, a new bridge would be constructed. A sum of Rs 29 crore has been sanctioned by the State Government and the work would start after completion of tendering process.”