News
Isolated… no bridge over these waters
View(s):The old bridge spanning Mi Oya in the Tabbowa farmer colony at Puttalam collapsed five years ago.
The old bridge which collapsed over 5 years ago
Though the village is in dire need of a bridge, the construction of the 12- million rupee new bridge is taking place at snail’s pace. On some days he points out, as few as two people at work at the site!
Story and Pics by Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe
The lack of a usable bridge has forced the village children to walk around 7 kms extra to get to school. Farmers too are forced to pay exorbitant sums for transport, whether it is to get their harvest to market or bring fertilizer to their fields.
People of the area also point out that the new bridge gets submerged by water from the spillway of the Tabbowa Wewa. They express doubts as to whether the new bridge will ever be structurally strong.
The Divisional Engineer Puttalam -D.M.M.P. Dissanayake- claimed the bridge would be completed by August.
However, P.A. Maximus Perera, a resident of Tabbowa, sarcastically pointed out that this new construction had been washed away three times while under construction and expressed doubts as to whether they would “get a bridge easily”.
 With no other means of getting from point A – B even little children are forced to walk long distances to their destination |  Transporting necessities has become a wearisome task |
 The new bridge gets submerged often |  School children have to wade across through the fast flowing waters to get to schools |