THE PONTOON BRIDGE OF MAHULI GANGA GHAT WILL BE CLOSED

22-JUNE-ENG 15

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA--------------------------The pontoon bridge of Mahuli Ganga Ghat located in Barhara block of Bhojpur district, connecting Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, will be closed for the next five-six months from June 25.

The pontoon bridge of Mahuli Ganga Ghat located in Barhara block of Bhojpur district, connecting Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, will be closed for the next five-six months from June 25. The administration has taken this important decision in view of the continuous increase in the water level of the Ganges river. In the last few days, an increase of about one foot in the water level has been recorded.

With the closure of this pontoon bridge, the direct connection of Bhojpur and Chapra districts of Bihar with Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh will be broken. This bridge used to serve as a daily lifeline for thousands of people, but now they will have to cover a long and tiring distance. After the closure of the bridge, people will have to travel an additional 100 to 150 kms either via Buxar or Chapra to reach Ara or Badhara from Ballia.

This is not just a waste of time, but it will also increase the financial burden on the people. Especially the people of 18 villages of Khawaspur Panchayat will now have to take a long detour of 75 to 100 kms to reach their own block and district headquarters. Students going to school-college, traders going to the market and villagers going to the hospital in case of emergency will have to face great difficulties.

This is the story of every rainy season. This pontoon bridge has to be opened every year in view of the rising water level of the Ganga, and every year the lives of lakhs of people in the border areas of UP-Bihar come to a standstill for a few months. This temporary arrangement, which affects the daily lives of lakhs of people, demands a major permanent solution.

The local people have repeatedly appealed to the government to construct a permanent bridge in this sensitive area, so that this annual problem can be resolved forever. Until a concrete and permanent solution is found, the hardships of the villagers of these border areas will continue, and they will continue to suffer the pain of the closure of the Pipa Bridge every year.