Odhisha govt starts work on bridge over Kolab, nearly 1 lakh to benefit | Bhubaneswar News
BHUBANESWAR: Nearly 1 lakh people living in 138 villages in Koraput district are going to benefit from a bridge over the Kolab reservoir after the state govt informed the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that a tender has been floated for the construction of the bridge.
The revelation came to light after NHRC sought an action-taken report from the Odisha govt while hearing a petition filed by rights activist and lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy.The govt also informed the NHRC that the bridge would cost around Rs 66.5 crore. Once the bridge gets constructed, the distance and time it takes to travel from Suku to Koraput town will reduce drastically.
At present, they have to travel more than 70km, which takes more than 2 hours, to cover the distance. The bridge will cut down travel time to around 15 minutes and the distance will fall to 15km.
On Jan 22, Tripathy had filed a petition urging NHRC to direct the state to provide basic amenities to villages in Nandapur, Lamtaput, and Koraput blocks in Koraput district. The most important requests were for a bridge over the Kolab reservoir, provision of health facilities and the development of roads in these areas.
‘Single bridge will benefit 138 villages’
After the Kolab reservoir was constructed in the 1980s, it cut off many villages from the district headquarters town. Around 38 villages under Lankaput and Badasuku panchayats were directly affected, whereas around 100 other villages were indirectly impacted owing to a lack of bridge over the reservoir. “A single bridge can help around 138 villages in the district, directly or indirectly,” petitioner Tripathy said.
In the absence of a bridge, villagers have to use a two-feet-wide pathway on the side of a railway bridge over the reservoir to go to Koraput. “Sometimes they meet with accidents. Villagers of Suku have been asking for a bridge to connect their place with Koraput,” he said.
NHRC took cognisance of the case in Jan and issued notices to Odisha chief secretary, Koraput district collector and other officials on this matter. The Odisha govt submitted a report mentioning that it has started work on the project.
“After the intervention of this commission, almost all the grievances of the complainant have been addressed by the concerned authorities, and with the construction of the bridge over the river Kolab, the mobility of villagers will increase. Therefore, no further intervention of this commission is required, and the case is closed,” read NHRC’s Aug 21 order.
