Over 100 people, old and young, cross a canal over a temporary bridge of two bamboos every day in West Bengal, as their bridge is broken into half since seven months. Mothers with babies, children with heavy schoolbags and men with cycles travel undertake the dangerous bamboo-walking during the dry seasons to get to the other side of their village Bhuyapata in the East Midnapur district of West Bengal; but during the rainy seasons, even the temporary measure fails.
The villagers reveal to our community correspondent Jaydeb Tala that the wooden bridge was in a rickety condition since two years, but since it's repairing was constantly neglected, it completely broke down the last monsoon. “The villagers have complained to the administration about the bridge when someone fell into the canal while crossing. But the administration hasn’t yet taken any steps,” says Shekh Abdul Rasid , a Panchayat member of the village. According to him, the Panchayat has raised the matter to higher officials too, but to no avail. “Now three villages of the area who can’t use this way are actively trying to get it repair at the soonest,” Shekh further tells Jayded.
These villages which lay in remote areas of West Bengal depend on this 'bridge' for travel, access to education, health, business and daily commute. Will they be able to access life without crossing the dangerous bamboo bridge? The community demands a proper concrete bridge be built at the soonest possible. Help the people of Bhuyapata by calling/ or messaging the region's Block Development officer, Bikram Chatterjee on +91-8373063048
This video was made by a Video Volunteers Community Correspondent Jaydeb Tala.
Community Correspondents come from marginalised communities in India and produce videos on unreported stories. These stories are ’news by those who live it. ’ They give the hyperlocal context to global human rights and development challenges. See more such videos at www.videovolunteers.org.
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Avijit Adhikary is a journalist with nearly 8000 days of field experience till date. In the past two decades, he has witnessed the ebb and flow of the media industry in India, with ripples felt in his region too. This includes the rise of digital media, the decline of print...
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