Mandi village students crossing swollen rivulet on way to school; footbridge sought

Dipender Manta

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Mandi, August 9

Residents of Bhareda village in Pihad Bedhlu Gram Panchayat in Mandi district have requested the government to construct a footbridge on a rivulet. During the rainy season, the flow of water increases, making it difficult for villagers to cross the rivulet.

Schoolchildren suffer the most, who cross the stream daily to reach the school.

Villagers Subhash Bakshi, Vir Singh and Santosh Kumar said, “For the past many years, we have been requesting the government as well as local panchayat to construct a footbridge on the rivulet as the swollen river poses a threat while we try to ross it.”

“We urge the government as well as Jogindernagar MLA Prakash Rana to look into the matter,” they said.

Kartar Singh, vice-pradhan of the gram panchayat, said, “The panchayat is unable to construct the footbridge, which requires technical expertise. The panchayat requested the state government to approve funds to construct a bridge..”

Rahul Thakur, Sub Divisional Officer at Ladbhadol, said, no funds were approved for the bridge. However, on the directions of Jogindernagar MLA Prakash Rana, the PWD was planning to shift a footbridge lying idle to the village. As soon as they got the approval from the government, the footbridge would be installed on the rivulet at Bhreda.