UP villagers crowdfund for bridge over Pandu

KANPUR: Villagers of Majra Bandraha of Mirzapur Lakhotia gram panchayat in Rasoolabad of Kanpur Dehat have built a wooden bridge over the Pandu river on their own after waiting for help from the authorities for 70 long years. The bridge took a year to be built and was opened recently.
Located on the border of Kanpur Dehat and Kannauj districts, Majra Bandraha has a population of 1,500 people, but no basic school. The only school near it is the primary school in Simariya in Kannauj - some 3km via boat across the Pandu river.
"For getting access to the school, the children had to either cross the river on boat or take an alternate 10km land route. In the absence of a bridge, we had to stop sending our children to school, particularly during monsoon when the river swelled," said Sarvesh Singh, a retired army personnel. "There have been instances when children lost their lives while crossing the river," said Sarvesh, a retired army personnel. He added that he had witnessed several such incidents during his childhood.
"We made regular visits to government offices with requests to build a bridge on the river but nothing has been done. Local representatives made big promises to build the bridge during elections and then disappeared," said Sarvesh.
In 2018, Sarvesh launched a massive campaign in the village and collected money from the locals. Subsequently, the villagers were ready with Rs 8 lakh to build the bridge.