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Residents forced to rebuild bridge at their own cost
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By Hiran Priyanakara Jayasinghe
The residents of Puttalam District complain that they were forced to rebuild a temporary bridge with their own effort and expenses as the Anamaduwa-Meegoda new bridge construction had been halted halfway.
Residents complained that the old bridge which was in a good condition was demolished to be replaced by a new broader one following a Gama Samaga Pilisandara programme presided by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
They said that the Gama Samaga Pilisandara programme held at Egodapitiya village in Karuwalagaswewa Divisional Secretariat area was of little benefit to the people despite the high expenditure to facilitate the programme.
At the meeting back then, the people had requested the president for a bridge that would ease their travel to three Divisional Secretariat areas; the move would have benefited 15 villages.
As a result, the existing bridge was demolished and a temporary bridge was created which could only facilitate bicycles and motorbikes while a broader bridge was under construction.
However, before the broader bridge construction was even half completed, the construction ceased as the contractor claimed he did not receive any payment.
The people who were inconvenienced for over a year had then joined together and rebuilt the temporary bridge in a better manner using their money and labour.
One person who supported the construction of the bridge, D M Dissanayake, a resident of Nelumgama in Karuwalagaswewa, said the Government promised to build a new bridge and destroyed the only bridge which gave access to the village.
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