Medak: Farmer builds bridge across stream to reach his field

Since Ramulu knew welding and a little bit of carpentry as well, he spent Rs.2 lakh to procure cement poles and steel to build the bridge. The father-son duo built the bridge within 20 days before the onset of the rainy season.

Medak: For Kamari Ramulu and his son Dattu Kishore, residents of Tekmal mandal headquarters, the best proverb to frame and hang on their wall could be ‘Where there is a will, there is a way…’.

Ramulu owns 15 acres of land on one side of a stream called Gundu Vagu, which would be in full swing for a major part of the rainy season. Apart from Ramulu, many other farmers own lands on the other side of the stream. Whenever the stream comes to life, the farmers have to travel some five to six kilometres to reach their fields. Though a 60-yard bridge would reduce the distance between their fields and village to a few meters, there was no such bridge. During the last rainy season, Ramulu could not transplant paddy as the stream did not allow them to cross for 15 days. After suffering repeated losses, Ramulu and his son Kishore decided to build a bridge on their own.

Since Ramulu knew welding and a little bit of carpentry as well, he spent Rs.2 lakh to procure cement poles and steel to build the bridge. The father-son duo built the bridge within 20 days before the onset of the rainy season. When the Gundu Vagu was in full swing for the last 20 days, Ramulu crossed the stream without any issues. He also allowed other farmers to use the bridge and reach their fields, thus winning their hearts.

Ramulu is now preparing to lay a sheet on the steel bridge to enable two-wheelers ride along on the bridge soon. After his work, Ramulu is now known as “Bridge Ramulu” by the local farmers. The villagers are now demanding that the government build a permanent bridge across the stream to put a permanent end to their struggles since they can take tractors and other heavy vehicles across the stream.