Process to dismantle pontoon bridges begins

Patna: As the water level started soaring gradually in the Ganga with the onset of monsoon season, like every year, the Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited (BRPNNL) on Monday started the process of dismantling the pontoon bridges, disconnecting a large number of population living in diara areas across the state.
Now, more than lakhs of people living in diara areas would have to take the help of country-made boats to travel Patna and other places for the next five months, till the water level decreases in the river.
“The dismantling process begins after June 15, but this year it got delayed due to low water level in the river. There are eight pontoon bridges across the state, including at Danapur, Fatuha (Kachhi Dargah), Sinha ghat (Mahauli ghat) in Bhojpur, Bhagalpur, Champaran and Pahleja ghat in Saran district. It takes around 15 to 20 days to dismantle a pontoon bridge completely. The bridge is dismantled and then tied to the bank of the river with the help of iron chains so that they could not float away in water. The bridges are again assembled in the month of November or December depending on the water level,” said Sunil Kumar, managing director of BRPNNL.
Tridosh Rai of Ganghara village in Danapur diara said vehicles like two-wheelers and cattle were also being transported by the boats. “It’s very risky and unsafe for the people to travel by boats when the river is flooded, but we have no other options,” he said, adding students also had to cross the river to go to high schools and colleges.
Another villager, Dinesh Rai of Raghopur diara said, “Things go worst if any person needed a medical emergency as the patients have to be carried out by boats to go to Fatuha hospital or Nalanda Medical College Hospital (NMCH) which takes time and is risky.”