In the absence of a bridge across the Kamala river connecting Sirha and Dhanusha, daily commuters are forced to travel by ferry, making their journey risky.
What you should know
Passengers were waiting on both sides of the river. At 7 o'clock in the morning, the local people who were sitting watching the overflowing flood got excited when the group of 6/7 people called 'Abai Jaiza' (come, come).
Passengers who had been waiting for about half an hour were ready to cross after the fishermen who had been parked on the river bank came.
Busbitta Ghat located in Sirha Municipality-6, why not pay money, these two boats are the means of crossing. Boats are the only support for the common people to cross the war even for ordinary work.
Deepak Mukhia, Lakshmi Yadav, Sumit Mukhia, Rajan Yadav, Jitan Yadav, Subhesh Yadav, Visheshwar Mukhia of Barerba have been driving boats for a long time.
Basbitta is the place where the bridge has been under construction for more than 14 years. As there is no bridge in Kamala on the border of Sirha and Dhanush under the postal highway which is considered as the lifeline of Madhesh, not only the residents of this area, but all the common people who come and go through this road have been suffering for years.
When the flow of water in Kamala is normal, a temporary wooden bridge has been built in recent years. However, the flood that comes with the rain tends to wash away this bridge. The flood that came after last week's rain again destroyed the temporary bridge here.
Traffic was blocked for two days after the bridge was missing. However, after the water flow decreased, now these two boats are ferrying 500 to 1000 people daily from Sirha to Dhanusha and from Dhanusha to Sirha.
'Now there is little water, so we have run the ferry, if it is too much, we will not run,' Deepak Mukhia, a ferry driver, said, 'Running a ferry and traveling by ferry is risky, but now there is no bridge, so there is no other option.' At other times they engage in the business of buying and selling fish. However, after a flood in Kamala, they leave work for a few days and work to drive the boat.
'Our fish business is going well, but when there is a flood in Kamala, we also operate a boat in terms of humanity, because it was done by our ancestors,' says Visheshwar Mukhia, 'but this is not a solution, the government should solve Kamala soon.'
According to Visheshwar, they charge Rs. However, he said that those who do not have money are not taxed for money.
A maximum of 20 people can board a boat at a time. Due to which common people have to wait for their turn to board the ferry. Ramesh Mandal of Siraha said that it takes at least half an hour to cross the river.
"No matter what the urgent work is, we spend more than half an hour in the river, it takes an hour to travel ten minutes, it has become our fate," he said to Kantipur, "One is that it is risky, even if we risk our lives, we are forced to travel by boat like this." However, locals complain that this bridge is not built. "Though the suspended bridge made it easy for the people around it, it did not make it easy for the rest of the area," said Jogi Yadav, a local, "There is no alternative to building a bridge on the river."
It has been more than 14 years since the construction of the Kamala river bridge started. The construction of the 469.2 meter long bridge was started from 31st May 2068. For the construction of this bridge, Pappu Lumbini JV Kathmandu signed a contract for 281.5 million rupees. According to the
agreement, it was mentioned that the construction of the bridge would be completed by 30th of November 2071. However, the construction period was extended till 30th of November 2075 by extending the deadline twice. However, due to negligence of the contractor company, the bridge could not be constructed even within the extended deadline.
Postal Highway Directorate, Planning Office, Janakpur then removed Pappu on October 1, 2076 and awarded the contract to Lumbini JV. However, this bridge, which reached the final stage of construction in ten years after being extended time and time again, was unable to withstand the normal flood on June 17, 2078.
Although it is said that reconstruction has started after the bridge collapsed, the work is being done in such a slow manner that it is uncertain whether the bridge will be built or not. Recently, although the deadline was given until June 2082 for the last time, the contractor has stalled the work of the bridge.
The head of the directorate, Krishna Kumar Mahato, said that it is not possible to say anything about the Kamala Bridge. According to Mahato, the directorate has proceeded with the process of taking action against the contractor after not working within the specified date as per the contract.
'There is no situation to say anything about this bridge now, we have recommended the contractor to the center for action, but it has not been decided,' he said to Kantipur, 'Maybe there will be a situation to say something about this issue only after August.' However, no work has been done to address the demands of the movement and the suffering of the common people. Whereas, from the Prime Minister to the Minister, they have come here many times and assured that the bridge will be built soon. Anuwa Ramrizhan Yadav of the Hula Road Struggle Committee alleged that instead of building a
bridge, the bridge could not be built because the political parties had the intention of making it an election issue forever. "Even if the people who run the country come again and again, it is doubtful that Jabo could not be built as a bridge," he said, "No one seems to have the intention of building a bridge."
