Tragedy struck the people of Tali assembly constituency in Kra Daadi district when a Bailey bridge over the Kumey river at Kuwa in Tali circle collapsed on Tuesday morning. The bridge connected Tali to Yangte circle in the same district, and was the only line of connectivity for the people of Tali. In fact, the bridge was yet to be officially inaugurated. The administration had been conducting load testing, and the bridge was to be formally inaugurated in November. A huge sum of Rs 14 crore was spent on constructing the bridge which did not last even a full year after it had been completed.
Tali is the only circle headquarters which is yet to be connected with a road. There was hope that with the construction of the Bailey bridge the region would finally have road connectivity. With the collapse of the bridge, the dream has been crushed. The lack of road connectivity has forced many people to migrate to the capital complex. It is also a big setback for the newly elected MLA of Tali, Jikke Tako, who has been encouraging the people of his area who are settled in the capital complex to return to their home district and work for its development. There has to be a proper investigation into the incident. How can a newly constructed bridge collapse so easily? The engineers cannot escape responsibility by just blaming it on ‘nature’s fury’. The state government should punish the people responsible for it.