Diara Ganga Mukti Andolan members stage a protest in Bhagalpur on Tuesday. Picture by Amit Kumar

Villagers of Jamunia diara staged a protest on Tuesday in Bhagalpur against the proposed shift of a link bridge from Manik Sarkar Ghat to Darpur.

The protesters — inhabitants of Shankerpur, Sahunia, Bhagwatipur, Lodipur, Jhab, Khairpur, Lakshmipur, Maheshpur, Jalalpur, Khanjarpur, Adampur and others — took out a march under the banner of Diara Ganga Mukti Andolan from the ghat to the office of the Bhagalpur district magistrate. They also protested against the encroachment of the 500ft wide road around the ghat.

Ram Kishore, the convener of Diara Ganga Mukti Andolan, told The Telegraph: “The city has been long dependent on the diara for the daily supply of vegetables and milk. Except in the monsoon, when the diara residents shift to the city, we have to cross the Jamunia stream daily. Boat accidents are common. A bridge would address the problem of frequent loss of life and property.”

Ganga Mandal, another protester, said: “The farmers of the diara had requested chief minister Nitish Kumar to construct a link bridge between the diara and Bhagalpur city. Nitish asked the district magistrate, Narmadeshwar Lal, to inspect the Manik Sarkar Ghat for the proposed bridge. The district administration also sanctioned Rs 675 lakh on June 17, 2011, for the proposed bridge.”

But no work started at the proposed site.

“When we approached the officials recently, they told us as the government did not have any land near the Manik Sarkar Ghat, the link bridge would come up at Darpur, 2km to the west. But the new spot is not convenient for us. Also, the land mafia has encroached the 500ft land around the Manik Sarkar Ghat and constructed buildings illegally. If this land is cleared, the bridge can be easily constructed,” said another protester.

The agitators also claimed to step up the protest if their demands were not met with.

District magistrate Narmadeshwar Lal was unavailable for comment but a district administration official said the state government had not released the money for the bridge in the 2011-12 fiscal. “We are also contemplating the matter of the encroachment seriously,” he said.