The suspension bridge at Seitheke Basa–the lifeline of more than six villages under Chumukedima sub-division– collapsed on Friday night after more than 30-40 ft of the bank on which the main structure of the bridge stood was swept away by strong water current.
The concrete structure upon which the pillars were erected at Seitheke Basa side of the bridge was swept away by the river, however the metal ropes of the collapsed bridge were retrieved by local volunteers and kept tethered to trees.
An average of more than two thousand commuters use the bridge on a daily basis but with the bridge collapsed, students, farmers, and office goers are the worst affected as they have to travel an additional 3-4 kms.
The bridge is the lifeline for: Seitheke Basa village, Seitheke ‘A’ village, Seitheke ‘C’ village, Spdzulhou village, 7th Mile village, and Model village.
Speaking to this reporter, the village council members of Seitheke Basa stated that district administration was informed and officials from Department of Irrigation and Flood Control reportedly inspected the bridge days before the bridge was collapsed.
The locals rued that despite repeated appeals for construction of anti-erosion structures on the riverbank to the concerned department, no action was taken citing ‘paucity of funds.’
In this regard, the affected villages appealed to the concerned authority to repair the bridge at the earliest.
It may be mentioned that the bridge was constructed in 2003 by the 6th Bihar regiment under Military Civic Action scheme and has been repaired numerous times by the locals since then.