Team Herald
SANGUEM: The over 50-year-old footbridge connecting remote Dongra ward at Valshem in Bhati Panchayat in Sanguem taluka collapsed on Sunday.
The footbridge collapse, which is the lone link for the villagers, would cause them severe hardship for especially those living in remote Dongra ward, which is inhabited by around 40 people residing in seven houses. The bridge collapse would also have a hard hitting effect on the dairy activities of the villagers. It is pertinent to note here that the villagers residing at Dongra solely depend on the dairy activities for their livelihood and now with the sudden collapse of the bridge, the villagers will face difficulties in transporting milk to the nearby milk centres in the absence of alternate route.
While for another few days, the villagers would be able to cross the river on foot due to less water. Crossing the river would be almost impossible once the water level rises, said former sarpanch Chandrakant Gaonkar.
Meanwhile, the Executive Engineer (Roads & Bridges) Sanguem, Dayanand Nadkarni said he visited the site to get the first hand information which would be passed to the higher authorities for immediate commencement of the work relating to construction of new bridge in the village.
