Thane professionals come to aid of Bitharwadi villagers in Shahapur, build bridge with wood, rope

The bridge in Bitharwadi village, Shahapur, built by trekkers, professionals from Thane can carry weight upto 3,000kg. The youngsters took 11 days to build the bridge that will now ease hardship faced by pregnant women and school children

Following the death of a new-born as its mother could not reach the hospital on time due to lack of roads in Bhiwandi, several trekkers and professionals from Thane and nearby cities came together and constructed a bridge across a river using wood and iron rope to a avoid similar situation in another village in Bitharwadi, Shahapur.

Thane professionals constructing bridge using rope and wood across river in Bitharwadi village in Shahapur. (HT PHOTO)

The bridge can carry weight upto 3,000kg. The youngsters took 11 days to build the bridge that will now ease hardship faced by pregnant women and school children.

The team built an 80ft bridge spending ₹12 lakh on wood and other materials, some of which came from their own pockets. The group travelled for over four hours to merely reach Shahapur amid bad roads and heavy rains.

Thane resident and veteran athletics coach Ajit Kulkarni, encourages rural children to take up sports, especially athletics. While doing so, he came in contact with several children from Shahapur and got abreast with the hardships they faced. He learnt that the village in Bitharwadi was disconnected from the city due to a river passing in between, and school children and pregnant women faced problems reaching the other side. The area also had no mobile network, thus they were unable to contact anyone.

Manohar Hindola, 30, is a resident of the Chafyachiwadi, which is across the river and opposite to Bitharwadi. He would help children to cross the river when there was less water.

He said, “In the past, authorities have never been able to do this simple work. I have seen my family friends staying in Bitharwadi village who have suffered a lot during medical emergencies. Last year, a woman suffered miscarriage during monsoon as we were unable to take her hospital across this river. The education of the children is affected and most of them drop out. There is no mobile network in the village because of which they can’t even call for help. We are really thankful to these men who reached here and helped everyone in the village.”

Block Development Officer B Chavhan said, “The bridge construction above this river is under way and the proposal has also been made. The approval is pending.”