Odisha Man Pawn Wife's Jewellery To Build Bridge

A resident of Rayagada district Odisha built a bridge over the Bichhla river by pawning his wife's jewellery. So that villagers could commute easily. This story is not about appreciating a man for his good deeds, it is about the government's failure to provide the basic need for a bridge to commute.

Ranjit Nayak and his father Kailash Nayak in June month decided to stop expecting from government authorities and create their own path to build the most needed bridge across the Bichhla river. Without the bridge it was hard for villagers to commute, with the new bridge travelling will become easier for villagers if going to two adjoining districts; Kalahandi and Nabarangpur.

Odisha Man Built Bridge For Villagers

Nayak and his spouse come from a poor family and were well aware that they cannot afford a concrete bridge. So, planned to build one using wooden poles and bamboo. With time and as work developed, they realized the need for more poles and bamboo, to fulfill this Nayak pawned his wife’s jewellery for ₹70,000. For his spouse and family, it was the only valuables they had. Nayak bought bamboo and wooden poles from the market and completed the bridge.

Nayak said, “I and my father decided that we would not stop come what may. I had taken a break from my driving work and kept working on the bridge. Further added, “People were suffering a lot and people used to get hurt trying to cross the river. The river wasn’t always very deep but its flow was fast. Often, people would get washed away and would sustain injuries trying to get back to the riverbank. So fast that sometimes even motorcycles would get swept away while crossing the river."

Nayak completed the bridge work n November this year for his village, Gunjarampanjara. Since the bridge has been built it has become easier for villagers to travel to the government hospital in Jaipatna block of Kalahandi district, as per the villagers.

Infrastructure in the country has flourished, and urban centers and cities are getting made over again and again, but villages like Gunjarampanjara are left unconnected. Odisha government has a flagship program to build bridges in backward and flood-prone areas, known as Biju Setu Yojana, but one can find loopholes in the implementation.

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