Title - Villagers to restore 130-year-old bridge

With elected representatives and authorities turning a deaf ear to the decades-old plea seeking better connectivity to Rampura and 14 other villages in Srirangapatana and Pandavapura taluks, the residents have come together to restore the 130-year-old abandoned bridge across the Cauvery river.This bridge was abandoned after the new railway bridge came up following conversion to broad gauge in the late 1990s. Before that it used to be a prominent road that connected Lalipalya, Kadanalu, Arathiukada, Aravu, Aralakuppe and other villages.As time passed, villagers started riding their bikes, bicycles and even walked on this abandoned 11-feet wide, 200-metre long railway bridge as it saved a distance of seven km to reach Mysore-Bangalore road or Srirangapatna.The villagers had even submitted a memorandum to then railway minister K H Muniyappa to restore the abandoned bridge. Muniyappa directed the authorities and assured the villagers that restoration would be done with the help of the PWD and local administration, but eventually the railway officials stopped the repairs.After Muniyappa was shifted to Small Scale Industries portfolio, Rampura villagers raised contributions of `60,000 from users of the narrow bridge in the last one week, collecting `1,000 each from 30 of them, `10,000 from three, besides collecting stones, sand, cement and raw materials.

Venkatesh of Rampura, said the construction of a parapet wall, with safety pipes and asphalting will be completed at a cost of `10 lakh. He said that the people have contributed `3 lakh and more donations are likely to flow to complete the work as many villagers use the bridge.

Traffic is more on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday and new moon days as people make a beeline for Arathi Ukkada temple in Pandavapura. They have decided to asphalt the road using 40 loads of ballast and tar to see that the bridge lasts for another 20 years. Sureendra, a villager, claimed that the bridge that was built by the British is still strong and would last another century.

Unhappy with the lackadaisical attitude of leaders and officials, they hope the initiative would force local leaders to extend support to the venture.