Jharkhand villagers cut cake to mark two months of bridge collapse, slam govt apathy

Khunti (Jharkhand), Aug 19 (IANS) In a very unusual protest, villagers in Jharkhand’s Khunti district cut a cake on Tuesday to mark the completion of two months since a bridge over the Banai river collapsed.

This unique protest was held to highlight what they called the government’s indifference.

The bridge, located in Palol village on the Khunti-Torpa-Kolebira road, caved in on June 19 after heavy rains. Two months later, neither has reconstruction begun nor has a diversion been made. This is causing serious problems for thousands of residents of the area.

“We know that if we block roads or stage dharnas, the government will slap cases against us. So, we chose this way to register our anger,” said a villager, as locals gathered at the bridge site with a cake to "celebrate" what they called "two months of neglect".

The absence of the bridge has disrupted schoolchildren’s commute, delayed emergency patients from reaching hospitals, cut off farmers from seeds and fertilisers, and crippled local trade.

For weeks, children were even forced to clamber across a makeshift ladder to reach school -- images of which had gone viral on social media.

Politicians had rushed to the spot after the bridge collapse, assuring a quick fix. Local MLA Ram Surya Munda had even laid the foundation stone for a diversion road, promising completion by July. But villagers say not a shovel of earth has been moved since then.

“What has happened is only politics, not a solution,” a villager remarked.

Frustrated, residents warned that if the administration does not act immediately, they will themselves create a temporary pathway by filling cement bags in the riverbed so that vehicles can pass.

For the people of Palol, the bridge collapse is no longer just an infrastructure failure -- it has become a symbol of promises broken and patience tested.

--IANS

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