Following the collapse of the bridge, the school bus service has been completely stopped. Parents have to bring their children to the collapsed bridge in their vehicles, from where the children come down using a 25-foot high temporary staircase built by the villagers.They also have to take the same route to return home in the afternoon. According to locals, the staircase has become very slippery and dangerous due to continuous rain in the region.“Small children are brought down the stairs by their parents sometimes on their back, sometimes by holding their hands and are sent to school by crossing the gap of the broken culvert. The same process is repeated after the school is over,” said a local.This is not only painful, but there is a possibility of a major accident, he added.Arvind Kumar Ojha, who is currently in-charge of Sub-Divisional Officer, said that looking at the problems being faced by the people, the district administration is making continuous efforts and is engaged in repairing alternate routes.“On receiving information that school children were climbing up and down the broken bridge using a ladder, the route has been immediately closed and the ladder on the bridge has been removed,” said the SDO in charge.Instructions have been given to the Murhu and Torpa administration that nobody should be allowed to take that route, he added.Torpa MLA Sudeep Guriya said that talks have been held with the state government regarding the construction of the bridge.At present, work is going on for the alternative route and the process of making a diversion is being expedited; it is expected to be resolved soon, he said.Notably, the bridge broke into two pieces amid heavy rains on June 19. Since then, it has been almost fifteen days, but neither the construction of the bridge was started, nor any diversion route has been started.Locals, however, said that due to the apathy of the administration, the situation is getting worse day by day.
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