Farmers fear loss due to damaged bridge

JAIPUR: A small bridge over River Palko in Beel Kheda Mal village near Devri in Baran district has been in a state of disrepair for over two years. The Chamrana basti, Goyra, Hodapura and other locations in the village have been put through great inconvenience with this little bridge lying in such a sorry state that it cannot be used. The crops in fields nearby are fast getting ripe enough for harvest, but poor roads could cause trouble in transporting produce, farmers say.
Schoolchildren would use the bridge to get to school; about six villages are now cut off from the gram panchayat headquarters because of the broken bridge.MLA Lalit Meena who represents Kishanganj in the assembly had held a meeting a few days ago with residents in the area and many people had complained about the bridge. Many farmers also sought that the MLA intervene to repair the boundary of a well nearby - the boundary wall had been washed off, and the well had become a deep ditch.
It is now over a week since the meeting with the MLA, but there is no sign of any repair activity. Keru Lal Mehta, a farmer in the area, said his crops were almost ripe for harvest. If the roads are bad and the well boundary is not repaired in time, commuting and transporting crops will be hard, he said, adding that the problem could cause squabbles and result in mounting losses.