Asifabad’s Gundi residents risk lives to cross stream on thermocol rafts

In Gundi village of Asifabad mandal, residents continue to cross a stream using unsafe rafts made of thermocol due to the long-pending construction of a sanctioned bridge. Despite promises from officials and a sanctioned budget under NABARD in 2007, the project remains incomplete with only columns erected.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Residents of Gundi village in Asifabad mandal continue to risk their lives daily due to the absence of a bridge across a local stream, forcing them to use wooden boats or makeshift rafts made of thermocol sheets. Videos of their ordeal went viral on social media on Friday.

Women, new mothers, youngsters, and elderly villagers were seen travelling on the rafts to reach the other side of the stream. They depend on these unsafe modes to visit hospitals or buy essentials from the district headquarters, just 4 km away.

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In 2023, villagers had threatened to boycott Assembly elections if the bridge was not constructed. They withdrew their protest after officials assured them of steps to expedite the project, with the then in-charge minister Seethakka also promising to fulfill their long-pending demand.

A high-level bridge was sanctioned way back in 2007 at a cost of Rs. 8.50 crore under NABARD assistance, with a deadline of December 2010. The project has since faced repeated delays, with costs escalating to Rs. 14.40 crore by 2024. While 11 columns have been erected, slab construction is yet to begin.

Officials attributed the delay to a fund crunch, stating that bills worth Rs. 6.5 crore remain pending, leaving the bridge incomplete for nearly two decades and forcing villagers to endure dangerous commutes.