Gulf NRIs a relieved lot as Bornapalli bridge opens

Jeddah: The opening of a long-awaited Bornapalli bridge that connects Nirmal and Jagtial districts has generated enthusiasm and hope of development among not only locals but also the NRIs hailing from several hinterland villages.

The 865-metre-long bridge, built at a cost of Rs 70 crore across the Godavari river in Bornapally in Raikal mandal, has revived social connections, provided a boost to economic activity and improved access to education and health facilities for remote villages. It has also reduced the distance between Adilabad and Hyderabad. The bridge was promised by MLC and former Nizamabad MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha when she toured the forest villages during the 2014 Parliament elections.

Many people hailing from the villages along the Godavari, which is India’s second-longest river after the Ganga and flows through northern Telangana, are now working in the Gulf countries. In fact, the backwardness in the absence of proper connectivity forced many to look for job opportunities in the Gulf. Many NRIs hailing from these villages avoid their annual vacation to India in the rainy season as the hamlets would be cut off from the rest of the world. When the Godavari is in spate, the villagers have to travel over 80 km to reach the adjoining villages on either side of the river. The river poses a huge problem during the monsoon as people trying to cross the stream had to be rescued many a time.

“We, sometimes, carried the luggage brought from the Gulf into our village through boats,” said Ganne Rajesh, an NRI from Saudi Arabia and of Chinna Bellala village in Kadem mandal in Nirmal district. He told ‘Telangana Today’ over the phone that a long-cherished dream had come true as the bridge was built as promised by the TRS. “Gone are the days when villagers struggled to cross the river on foot or by boat,” said V Rajeshwara Rao, former sarpanch of Bornapally. An excited Rajeshwar Rao said spotting a car on the road was a herculean task whereas now over 300 cars pass each day with the distance between Adilabad and Hyderabad cut down by 70 km.

The bridge across the river in erstwhile Adilabad and Karimnagar districts was a distant dream until the agitation of separate Telangana by the TRS gained momentum. Several bridges were constructed across the river in East and West Godavari districts in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh but same was not the case in the Telangana region. The only two bridges existed over the river in Adilabad district were built by Nizam rulers.

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