Sukanpukhuri Bailung Gaon resident builds wheeled bridge

A CORRESPONDENT

Demow: Hareswar Bailung, an inhabitant of Sukanpukhuri Bailung Gaon near Demow, has hearing impairment. But this did not stop him from building a wheeled bridge (tona ajura bridge) in the name of Lakhi Narayan on the Demow River.

The bridge was inaugurated recently. The people of the village had appealed to the government to build a bridge in that area but the government allegedly did not respond. However, Hareswar built this wheeled bridge for the convenience of the villagers. Bikes and bicycles can also pass through this bridge. Hareswar said that he had taken a loan of Rs 2 lakh from Bandhan Bank and Rs 50,000 from a self-help group. Till now Rs 12. 37 lakh has been spent in building the bridge.

Hareswar has a grocery shop at Bezapathar. On January 2 he started building the bridge and on January 5 it was inaugurated by Ahom priests. Moreover, Hareswar has also written three books and one of them is on wheel bridges. His wife Ranjana Bailung and sons Dhan Bailung and Mon Bailung helped him in building the bridge. People of various villages have helped him in building the bridge by extending financial support. So far Rs 33,000 has been collected in this way.