Khunti villagers cut cake to mark two mnths of bridge collapse, govt ‘apathy'
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Ranchi: In a unique way to show anger against the delay in rebuilding a bridge over the Banai river in Murhu block of Khunti district, villagers on Tuesday cut a cake at the site to mark two months of bridge collapse.
The bridge, which was constructed in 2007, collapsed on June 19, 2025, during heavy rainfall. The bridge was used by people from around a dozen villages, including hundreds of students, regularly. It linked Khunti to Jamshedpur, Chaibasa, Kolkata and other places.
A gram pradhan, Shiv Shankar Tiru, said, "Locals are travelling 10-14 km extra to reach various places, including banks. Students are also covering more distances and getting to school late.
It has also become a challenge to send pregnant women to hospitals on time."
Villagers had approached the administration and sought permission to build a bamboo bridge at their cost, but the officials refused, saying it would be dangerous. People adopted this method to highlight their problems, he addded.
Hume pipes were laid along the damaged bridge to create a diversion, but the upper layer of the mud over the pipes was washed away by the initial rain of the Shravan month.
The administration declared the diversion dangerous and asked people to avoid it.
Sunil Horo, a resident of Pelaol village and father of a Class VIII student said, "There are three schools located on both sides of the bridge. Students have to be guided on the diversion while going to school or else they may fall into the river. Many students cover an additional 10km to reach their schools if they take other routes."
Murhu block development officer Ranjit Sinha said, "The proposal for building the bridge over the river is at an advanced stage. However, I do not know about the exact status."
Khunti deputy commissioner R Ronita was not available for comments on the issue.
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