Hailakandi, April 25: The shutting down of the 50-year-old Matijuri bridge over Katakhal river near Hailakandi town in Assam's Barak Valley for vehicular traffic after it developed cracks has affected lakhs of commuters on the road that leads to all major establishments, including Silchar Medical College and Hospital, in adjoining Silchar town.
The PWD has restricted entry of vehicles to the bridge, 7km from Hailakandi town, after some cracks appeared in the middle of the bridge.
A large population of Hailakandi is dependent on the bridge to reach Assam University, National Institute of Technology, Silchar Medical College and Hospital and Silchar Polytechnic. The road connects Silchar with Hailakandi and people prefer it to the one via Dwarbond because of the scenic beauty on both sides of the road, said Sanjib Das, a member of the village defence party (VDP) of Paikan-Matijuri.
He said the bridge has importance considering the university-goers from Hailakandi who are now helpless. Ambulances and vehicles of security personnel are also unable to cross the bridge.
Abhijit Mitra, a PhD scholar from Assam University, who travels on this road everyday, said the plight of students and common people these days was painful. Patients are also having a hard time, he added.
Various organisations, including the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), staged repeated demonstrations demanding repair of the bridge. Members of Janashakti Seva Samiti and Trishul Club have also demanded immediate repairs.
PWD minister Parimal Suklabaidya inspected the bridge and asked the authorities to repair it within 15 days. He was accompanied by a team of top PWD officials of Barak Valley and Hailakandi deputy commissioner Moloy Bora. At least 10 teams of experts have already inspected the bridge and suggested ways to repair it but none of them have been implemented yet.
Suklabaidya said he has asked the department to prepare a concrete proposal for the construction of a new bridge in the area over the Katakhal. He said the old bridge will be repaired before the new bridge is approved by the government. He admitted that it would be a time-consuming factor because of official formalities.
