Silvester D’ Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (EP)
Kundapur, Feb 12: The long pending dream, Hattikudru-Basruru bridge, which was in the making since several years, is finally becoming a reality. Pratapchandra Shetty, chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council, took special initiative and obtained special grant through Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited. The bridge will be constructed at a cost of Rs 19.49 crore. The 330 meter- long bridge is likely to be ready for traffic by December end. People of Hattikudru are overjoyed by the construction of the bridge.
MLA Haladi Srinivas Shetty too had tried hard for the bridge to come into existence. Hattikudru is an island in Basrur gram panchayat limits. The demand for the bridge had reached the government as Hattikudru had remained isolated.
The distance between Hattikudru and Basrur is only 100 meters. The village with between 250-350 houses and a population of 3,000 is rich in natural resources. It was adventurous for the villagers to cross the river for four months in the monsoons. They depend on small boat to cross the river to go to hospital, ration store and schools. It is inevitable to cross Haladi lake to reach Basrur. Close to 170 school students cross the river on boats and go to Basrur. They are unable to go to school during heavy rains. Agriculture labourers and traders also travel to Basrur by boat every day.
A bridge between Hattiangadi-Hattikudru, an island, was constructed in 2004. But it was necessary to go to Hattiangadi and then proceed via Kundapur-Basrur by a long route.
Kodi bridge, Anagalli bridge and Maraswamy bridge were already constructed but Hattikudru bridge was pending. While people were disappointed for this long, the work on the bridge has already begun now.