Paradip, July 22: Call it "do-it-yourself" resolve or community empowerment, people at a remote village in Jagatsinghpur district have built a wooden bridge to restore its connectivity with the rest of the world.

Residents of Baansa village in Naugaon police limits remained cut-off from mainstream with a rivulet meandering through it, posing natural barrier for them for outdoor movement.

Building a bridge over the rivulet stayed at the top of people's demands over the years. However, with government agencies turning a blind eye to it, the villagers ultimately came forward, volunteered labour and donated funds to erect a wooden bridge.

Let down by the government agencies, people here have set a precedent for others in community empowerment.

A local youth, Subhash Swain, 38, who took the lead in mobilising his fellow villagers, said: "It was a test of endurance for us as government agencies paid little heed to our plight. The village was home to 1,200 people, mostly from the Dalit sections. People here had staged agitations at the block office seeking construction of a bridge. An amount of Rs 4.5 lakh had been sanctioned for it. However, the work never took off."

"Exasperated with the governmental indifference, we resolved to do it ourselves. We sat together and unanimously decided to build a wooden bridge. A fund-raising drive was launched and every family contributed for the cause. The work commenced a fortnight back with local people lending support to skilled labourers hired for the purpose. The bridge was made ready and inaugurated yesterday. We had to spend around Rs 75,000 for our pet project," Swain said.

"We have aptly named it Jana Setu (people's bridge). In a symbolic gesture, a village elder, Kartik Chandra Moharana, 78, inaugurated the bridge," he said.

Initially, some of the people were hesitant to get involved in the work. However when the work started, everybody took a plunge into it, said another local, Sadhu Charan Moharana.

Local sarpanch Sachidanand Parida said: "People's endeavour is commendable. The panchayat body would try its level best to construct an all-weather concrete bridge over the rivulet."