Bihar: Villagers Invite JD(U) MLA to Inaugurate Their Makeshift Bamboo Bridge

Two years ago, the state government had announced that no more makeshift bridges existed in the state.

Thakurganj (Bihar): An MLA from Bihar’s ruling party Janata Dal (United), Naushad Alam, inaugurated a chachri pul or makeshift bamboo bridge in his assembly constituency on Friday, making a mockery of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s tall claims of development. When scissors couldn’t be arranged to cut the ribbon, he used a sickle, much to the amusement of villagers.

No, this is not satire.

Road construction minister in the Bihar government Nand Kishore Yadav had announced the state free of makeshift bamboo bridges two years ago. “The era of makeshift bamboo bridges in Bihar is over now,” he had tweeted on June 12, 2018 with many newspapers clippings.

Shaky makeshift bamboo bridges and overloaded boats are a common phenomenon in eastern Bihar, devastated by annual floods and government negligence.

Naushad, an MLA from Kishanganj’s Thakurganj assembly segment since 2010, was invited by locals to grace the occasion so that he could take notice of their situation.

“We built the makeshift bamboo bridge together. When the MLA came here, we told him, ‘We are making this at our own expense; we can’t do this every year.’ It’s been ten years,” said Zahid, one of the villagers who built the bridge.

The bridge, referred to as ‘Hathiduba Pul’ locally, falls under the Bhogdabar panchayat of Thakurganj block and connects at least five villages to the nearest Noori Chowk market.

Hathiduba Pul inaugurated by JD(U) MLA Naushad Alam. Photo: Tanzil Asif

“The MLA has only been giving us assurances for many years now,” said a local young man, Prince Khan Surjapuri, who also grilled Alam on the occasion.

“Even a makeshift bamboo bridge will ensure easy movement. Though I shouldn’t have inaugurated it, I am happy that villagers made it; there is at least some connectivity now,” Alam responded when Surjapuri asked what circumstances forced him to be there.

He continued, “I will get the road constructed as soon possible. I will visit Patna to make sure of that.”

He gifted a sum of Rs 2,000 to the villagers for the makeshift bridge, which cost far more than that.

“It has cost us around Rs 38,000, including labour. A second layer of bamboo sheet is yet be laid,” confirmed Zahid.

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Former Thakurganj MLA and Naushad’s arch rival, Gopal Agarwal, claimed, “He has done that before too, it has become his habit to inaugurate makeshift bamboo bridges.”

When contacted by The Wire, road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav’s office said he was listening to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat and would return the call. On two follow up calls, the office said he was in a meeting. We have sent him a query over WhatsApp regarding his claims, and the article will be updated if he responds.

Several calls to MLA Naushad Alam’s phone went unanswered. We have sent him a text message, and the story will be updated when he responds.

Tanzil Asif is a Bihar-based journalist-cum-entrepreneur and the founder of a hyper-local news organisation mainmedia.in. He tweets at @tnzl_.