A correspondent
Silchar: The makeshift bamboo bridge, erected by the desperate locals following the collapse of the concrete bridge over the Rukni river, also got swept away by the heavy shower on Monday morning. This had left almost a lakh of people of Rajnagar, Shewarthal, Jamalpur in Dholai as well as Saiphai, Saipum, Chonpui villages of the neighbouring Mizoram, completely stranded. The only mode of transportation left for them was small country boats. The Bhaga-Sherkhan concrete bridge over Rukni river was an important lifeline for more than one lakh people residing in both the sides of Assam and Mizoram.
On September 13, the concrete bridge collapsed. Local residents said, an over loaded truck was seen parked on the bridge throughout the day on Friday and at night when two more loaded trucks moved over the bridge, it couldn’t bear the weight, and hence collapsed.
Noticing that the authority was dillydallying in restoring the concrete bridge, the local residents themselves erected a makeshift bamboo bridge. Much to their awe that the bridge too was swept away by the river following heavy shower on Monday morning. A local resident said, the bamboo bridge was weak enough and hence could not withstand the river’s force.
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