Daijiworld Media Network – Moodbidri (SP)

Moodbidri, Aug 17: The Mijar-Bellechchar Bridge on national highway 13 (new No. 169) between Mangalore and the town partially crumbled on Tuesday August 16. Several laterite stones of the bridge crashed to the ground, as a result of which, traffic on this busy road came to a standstill.

This bridge, which was in utter disrepair since decades, belongs to the British era. The bridge is built in the style of an arch, using laterite stones, sand, and mortar. The side walls of the bridge had fallen into the rivulet flowing below, on a number of occasions in the past. The demand of the people for the replacement of the bridge with a modern one has fallen on deaf years since the last two decades. Hundreds of two-wheelers, a number of temposcars, and an ore-laden truck recently, had fallen into the rivulet during the last some years. These accidents had killed two people, and injured many.

The bridge is located at a sudden and sharp bend. Promises had come flowing repeatedly from a number of people, pledging to rebuild the bridge and straightening the stretch of the road on both sides of the bridge. A proposal to build a new bridge at a cost of Rs 1.10 crore had been submitted to the ministry of surface transport in 2006, but no one heard about it after that.

The people held a protest at the site of the bridge on Tuesday, and took to task a junior engineer of public works department, who had visited the site to assess the situation. The people said that recent digging conducted for underground telephone cable near the bridge was one of the reasons for the crumbling of the bridge, as water had seeped into the ground and weakened the base of the bridge. They wanted to know why the department did not take timely action when digging was undertaken.

The road has since been blocked. Vehicles moving between the town and Mangalore now have to take a detour via Daddi, Neerkere and Todar, or Yedapadav Shastavu Urki and Mijar check post, both of which force them to travel about eight kms longer.