Hope floats as Hiran river bridge’s design finalised

It is conducive for construction and so the design was finalised.
The bridge will be diagonal from Chamarwada in Sankheda to Kareli in Chamarwada. It has been given elevation as Hiran is known to swell during monsoons.” According to Parmar, the construction on the bridge would commence by March.

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It was after a report in The Indian Express on August 3, 2014, which highlighted the plight of the students swimming to school, that the government of Gujarat had cleared the proposal for the Hiran river bridge. Villagers had been petitioning the government for the bridge since 2007. Officials said that the tenders will be floated by the end of February in order to complete the process of handing over the work order before the end of the current financial year. According to the official list of pending tenders from the area, the project has been titled, “Construction of bridge across river Hiran on Chamarwada-Kareli road in Sankheda taluka”. It is at number four on the list. The estimated tender bid is Rs 8 crore with a tender fees of Rs 12,000. The bridge as been classified under Special Category-1, which means that the Contractor must comply with the conditions of the category to bid for the project.

Chief Engineer R&B Panchayat P R Patelia said that although no deadline had been set to float the tenders, the technical sanction of the bridge is expected anytime as the procedures of design is complete.

Meanwhile, a tar road has been constructed from Utavadi to the banks of Sewada —  the path that the children living in Sankheda, across the river, must trek every day to get to school after crossing the river. The road has been constructed as the first step to the bridge that will meet Narmada at Kareli — about 2 kilometers before Sewada. According to local villagers, the bridge will ease movement not just for students, but for everyone in the village. Dilip Baria, a resident of Sewada, says, “Currently, without any connect to the two banks, the villagers of Sankheda taluka are forced to swim across the river even for the most basic needs. Even the cremation ground is on this side of the river and when a person passes away, the body is tied to bamboo sticks and raised above the waters by villagers carrying it across.”

The students of the school in Utavadi are thrilled about the prospect of having their coveted elevated road across the Hiran. Tinkle Baria, a student, says, “Once the bridge is ready, we will be able to cycle or even walk to school very easily. It would mean a permanent solution to the problem.”