A hanging or suspension footbridge, constructed across a river on the foothills of the Western Ghats in Dakshina Kannada for rural connectivity, has been in uninterrupted use for three decades now and continues to build the careers of hundreds of people.

Constructed across the Payaswini at Aramburu, near Sullia, in August 1989 through crowdfunding, it was the first hanging bridge built by Padma Shri recipient B. Girish Bharadwaj, popularly known as the “bridge man”.

Mr. Bharadwaj, a mechanical engineer, built it in consultation with Sullia-based civil engineer Sumitra.

The bridge connects NH275 [Mysuru–Madikeri–Sullia–Mangaluru] with Kerala, the border of which is about 9 km away from the river, at Aramburu on the highway. It links about 1,500 homes in about eight villages — Baddadkka, Kukkumbala, Paladkka, Majigundi, Aramburu, Nedchilu, Kootelu, and Aletti — located between the river and the Kerala border with the highway and Sullia, the taluk headquarters.

Incidentally, the State government is yet to complete the construction of a pillar-based bridge, sanctioned five years ago, parallel to the hanging bridge.

A shortcut

Sripathi Bhat, a chartered accountant at Sullia and who hails from Majigundi, told The Hindu that the hanging bridge provided a shortcut from Sullia and the highway to the areas between the river and the Kerala border. If not for the bridge, people need to travel about 4 to 8 km to reach the highway. “It lifted the economic life of hundreds of people and also gave them a means to get education,” he said.

Earlier, the people depended on a boat to cross the river and it was available only between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. “When I was a CA student, I had to swim across the river to reach home from the highway as the boat service used to get closed at 6 p.m. by the time could reach Aramburu from Puttur,” said Mr. Bhat, who initiated the crowdfunding, recalling the circumstances which forced people to approach Mr. Bharadwaj to build the hanging bridge. It cost only ₹1.1 lakh, he said, adding that Mr. Bharadwaj offered his services for free.

K. Sundar Naik, a retired Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, who hails from Aramburu area and who was part of the crowdfunding, said the bridge built the life of many as otherwise many would have been deprived of higher education and other professions. People could make use of health services owing to the bridge, he said.

Mr. Bharadwaj said the wooden planks of the bridge were replaced in 1996–97 and after a year, its ropes were replaced. Some even take their cattle on the bridge, he said.

S. Angara, MLA for Sullia, said the parallel bridge, being built at an estimated cost of ₹4.9 crore by the Public Works Department, would be completed by this year-end.