Rajapur villagers question Rs 60 lakh bridge at Bhu with approach roads left incomplete

A bridge was built on the road leading to Bauddhwadi in Bhu village of Rajapur taluka. About Rs 60 lakh from the Social Welfare Department's funds was spent on it. Villagers have now raised serious objections to the work.

Villagers allege that although the bridge has been built, the road on both sides of it has not been completed. This is causing great difficulty in getting around. They say that despite so much money being spent, the condition of the road has not improved, so the money spent on the bridge has gone to waste. Driving on the road has become difficult. Villagers say that when someone in the village falls ill, the family faces great hardship taking the patient to hospital.

The villagers have made another serious allegation. According to them, the contractor did not provide any alternative route while the bridge work was under way. As a result, a woman could not get treatment in time in the early phase of the work and died. This allegation too has been made by the villagers.

The villagers say the contractor and the engineers of the Zilla Parishad were later told that the work was being done improperly, but the work continued regardless. They also allege that the bridge work was carried out under police protection despite opposition from local villagers. They therefore demand a technical inquiry into the entire work and that the truth be made public.

Villagers are asking whether the Rs 60 lakh fund, received through the Social Welfare Department for the development of backward-class settlements, was used properly. People of Bhu village in Rajapur taluka have demanded that the inquiry examine the quality of the bridge work and whether it was carried out according to the estimate. They have also asked why the road on both sides of the bridge was left incomplete.

What the officials of the department concerned, the contractor and the Zilla Parishad administration have to say on the matter remains to be seen.