Team Herald
PONDA: The guard rail of the bridge which connects Nirankal and Dabal has been corroded and poses a risk to the traffic, which is usually heavy.
Nirankal comes under the jurisdiction of Bethora Village Panchayat while Dabal falls in Kirlapal Village Panchayat. The guard rail of the bridge is completely corroded and damaged at multiple places.
Locals are seen sitting near the bridge from evening till late night and before the tragedy strikes, the concerned authorities need to take measures. Water also gets accumulated in the upper region of the bridge, thanks to the bhandaras, which are built across Dudhsagar River.
Locals from Kirlapal, Kodli, Vaaghon, Shigao, Collem and nearby villages use the bridge to travel to Ponda, which is putting an extreme pressure on the bridge.
With the guard rail corroded and bridge weakened, locals are demanding to repair the same.
Some years back a truck had fallen off the bridge and currently the guard rail on both the sides is damaged and corroded.
“Minister for Water Resource Development Subhash Shirdokar has been informed about the state of the guard rail. He inspected the bridge and directed PWD engineers to complete the legal procedure at the earliest. Hence, repair work of the guard rail is expected to begin soon,” said Panch Madhu Khandeparkar.
