Indians rebuild Sudan bridge in 10 days

United Nations, January 14

People in a South Sudan village have been saved a perilous neck-deep wade across a river to reach a town and access basic services, thanks to Indian peacekeepers from the UN mission who have re-built a key bridge in record time in the strife-torn country. The bridge in Akoka village in the northern part of the land-locked country in East-Central Africa had been inoperable since last June when heavy rains washed away a 300-metre-long road segment. 

Rebuilt in a record 10 days by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in collaboration with the government, it has greatly benefited humanitarians, enabling faster aid delivery as well as security patrol and outreach activities by the Mission, according to a UN statement.

“The project was vital to allow other critical road repairs in the region,” Lt Col Nishkam Puri, in charge of the Indian engineering company that rebuilt the bridge, was quoted as saying. “The major challenge was reconstructing the bridge through a submerged area with a depth of up to 4 metres in some places,” he said.  The Akoka Bridge lies between provincial capital Malakal and oil-rich Melut town on a major service road that also reaches Bunj and Renk, both in the country’s northeastern part.

According to the Mission, the next phase is installing structures to bolster the bridge’s strength to withstand the next rainy season. India, which has its 700 nationals living in South Sudan, has two battalions in the UNMISS deployed in two of the largest states. — PTI