Residents use a damaged iron bridge in Kulla Khas panchayat in Purnea district towards their destination 
on Wednesday. Damage to the bridge on the Kasba-Amour road has made commuting difficult for residents of Tara Nagar village, around 14km west of Purnea town. It collapsed last week after years of poor maintenance. Trucks transporting material for development and construction work have, however, been forced to take a circuitous route because of a diversion put up by the district administration. The detour means up an extra 25km. Devnarayan Chaudhary, the head of Kulla Khas panchayat in Purnea, told The Telegraph: “The district administration constructed a diversion but it is of very poor quality. The diversion has forced vehicles to take a circuitous route. The residents, in turn, have to pay more for the vehicles coming via a roundabout route. We also have to pay more for buying commodities at the market in the Kulla Khas area.” Text and picture by Jitendra Kumar Shrivastava