Atmanirbhar Bihar Villagers Construct Bridge Through Donations After Facing Government Apathy For 30 Years

Residents of Budhaul village in Bihar's Gaya district have successfully completed the construction of a bridge that was reportedly pending since 1992.

The 110 feet long and 12 feet wide bridge now connects two villages, Budhaul in Wazirganj and Madardih in Atri block, both falling under the same district.

According to reports, with the completion of the river, the distance between the two villages would be significantly reduced to just one kilometre from 15 km. The villagers had been facing challenges to cross the river, especially during the rainy season.

"Our demand is pending since 1992. Last year, three people died including two girls from drowning. Students, farmers were also facing problems to cross the rivers which is why we had taken that task," one of the villagers told ANI.

Block development officer (BDO) Wazirganj Anand Prakash stated that villagers had completed the construction with shramdaan (voluntary labour) and pooling of their financial resources at the community level.

"Administration sanction for the work would have been required only when government fund was involved but the work has been done from the mutual donation," he said, reported the Times of India.

"As the bridge is complete now, it will become convenient to cross the river. It would save their time and energy to cover a longer distance," said Lakshmikant Pyarelal, Mukhia of Amaithi panchayat under which Budhaul village falls.

One of the villagers also told the publication that a meeting of Mahapanchayat was called and it was decided to take the matter in their own hands after years of neglect. The villagers contributed to arranging the construction materials and the work was started on August 30. He further added that more than 100 villagers of the nearby villages contributed their labour voluntarily.

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