Know why this bridge in Chhattisgarh’s Naxal-affected village is so special

The story of one Chhattisgarh village-- affected by Naxal violence for long--highlights the struggle, pain and determination of the villagers to get a concrete bridge for the last 71 years.

Raipur, July 14: Those who stay in big cities and towns can't imagine how life is in a remote corner of the country. Yes, life in villages across the country is a big struggle where government agencies hardly function. In spite of being far away from mainland India, dominated by Delhi and other big metropolis, residents of these remote parts of the country work really hard to survive.

They don't easily give up for sure. The story of one Chhattisgarh village-- affected by Naxal violence for long--highlights the struggle, pain and determination of the villagers to get a concrete bridge for the last 71 years.

Yes, you heard it right. To get the concrete bridge, the village had to wait for seven decades. While government agencies blamed the Naxals for not allowing them to build the bridge, the Naxals on their part hardly cared about the real issues of the people in the village.

Finally, Churegaon village in Kondagaon district got the much-needed concrete bridge recently, thanks to the villagers who have been well supported by two top officials-- Superintendents of Police and Collector.

First, they built a wooden structure for commute. Later, the wooden bridge was turned into a concrete one. It took almost a month to build the 70-meter long bridge which has helped to end so many problems of the villagers.

"We had apprehensions of the bridge being destroyed, but now we have made it clear to the Naxals that if they try to hamper the development, they will have to face the consequences," SP Abhishek Pallava told ANI.

"The bridge has solved a lot of our problems. We used to have a tough time commuting when someone fell sick or in case of any other emergency," said Mahendra Kumar, a village resident.

Another villager said, "We are very happy. Earlier we had to commute through unsafe means which highly affected the children."

Kondagaon collector Neelkanth Tekam said, "The bridge has made life easier not only for Kondagaon but also for people of Narayanpur and Bastar."

Truly, the bridge has changed the way the villagers had been living all these decades.