Sambalpur, Dec. 23: Work on the much-awaited bridge over the Mahanadi to connect Kud Gunderpur gram panchayat on the river island with other areas of the district has begun.

The bridge, which will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 32 crore, will be 450 metres long.

The bridge will benefit the residents of six villages - Kud Gunderpur, Kud Jampali, Kud Amlipali, Kud Mahada and Kud Patakhai - under Kud Gunderpur gram panchayat. At present, one has to take a boat to reach to the Kud Gunderpur gram panchayat, where more than 10,000 people stay.

The public works department is executing the project.

"A Raipur-based construction firm has started the preliminary work for construction of the bridge, and they have been given the target of two years to complete the construction," said the works' sub-divisional officer Bankim Panda.

The rural development department, which was entrusted with the responsibility to build the bridge, had floated tender 11 times between 2006-07 and 2014-15 but didn't find bidders. Later, the works department had been given the task, and it invited bids last year. Consequently, the current firm was chosen.

The work could not begin because the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), which is to provide funds for the project, had not given its approval. It has now approved the project," said Panda.

"The bridge will be very helpful for us to cross the Mahanadi," said Kud Gunderpur villager Manabhanjan Purohit.

The boat being the sole mode of transport to the outside world, the people of the river island face problems during monsoon when the Mahanadi is in spate.