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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Climate
- Indian Express
A bridge split down the middle, a viral video, and a treacherous route to school through river Banai
For 20 days now, Pawan Singh has been following a new and treacherous route while taking his three children to school. Each day, they walk four kilometres to the 'broken bridge', then down a mud path to the bank of the river Banai. From here, he hoists one child on his shoulder, wades through the river, drops the child on the other side, and then comes back for the others. Exhausted, he returns home, only to repeat the process hours later when it's time to bring them home. 'It has become a daily battle,' Singh, a resident of Khunti district's Angrabari, tells The Indian Express. 'I cross the river 12 times a day.' Singh isn't the only one having to cross the river like this. For the last 20 days, many residents living around the river have followed a similar routine after heavy rain caused a bridge over it to split right in the middle, leaving a 25-foot gap. The bridge was part of the National Highway-75, connecting Khunti to Simdega and further to Odisha. The incident, on the morning of June 19, has left hundreds stranded on both sides, with incessant rain and the swelling river aggravating the situation and making the crossing deadly. 'Water now rises to our chest, but we don't have a choice,' Singh says. 'The alternate route is a 15-km detour through Chatkanda and Kunjla Mod. It's just not feasible.' Jharkhand has been witnessing heavy rain in the past month, seeing its wettest June in 11 years. The state saw a whopping 348.9 mm of rainfall — 84 per cent more than the monthly average of 189.5 mm. The heavy rain caused the bridge, constructed in 2007 at an estimated cost of Rs 1.25 crore, to split into two. It also caused one part of the road to sink, making it hang dangerously. As a result of the collapse, traffic has been diverted through another route, the NH-143. But for villagers, this change comes at a steep price. For one thing, it means spending more on transport. 'Earlier, the school auto used to charge Rs 500 per month, but now it's Rs 1,000. Not everyone can afford that,' another parent, Dashrath Mahto, says. For another, the alternate route is frequently used by heavy vehicles, making it more dangerous for pedestrians, the residents say. With the bridge now split in half, no school buses come to the area, forcing students from the nearby Rodo, Sungi, Angrabari, Bichana, Saridkel, Japud, Jaltanda, and Gamhariyam villages to take the more dangerous route – the river. 'We leave home at 6:30 am and reach the school some 4 km away around 7:30 am. But on days the water levels are high and the currents are strong, we're forced to take a longer route. That's 30 kilometres up and down,' Mahto, who takes turns with another parent to drop the kids to school, says. Locals had initially come up with a different solution: they had placed a bamboo stepladder from the sunken part of the road up to the other side of the bridge. A video that went viral soon after the collapse showed some older schoolchildren climbing the ladder, which wobbled dangerously under their weight. 'We used it to carry our children on our shoulders and climb up,' Mahto says. 'Later, the police and district administration ordered its removal, saying it was too risky. But isn't the situation even more dangerous now?' Local residents claim they have approached the administration several times. On its part, Khunti Deputy Commissioner R Ronita says that the Pelol bridge collapse was caused by 'extreme rainfall'. 'Khunti received over 360 mm of rain in just three days — well above the district's average. The structure split in the middle, making it unsafe for movement… Tender process for repair is underway, and work is expected to begin soon,' she says. 'It is not a National Highway, but part of State Highway-3 (SH-3). Therefore, its construction and maintenance fall under the Road Construction Department (RCD) of the Jharkhand government, specifically under the PWD Khunti Division,' Mukund Attarde, the project director of the National Highways Authority of India, Jharkhand, tells The Indian Express. Officials at the PWD division did not respond to calls and messages seeking a comment. Shubham Tigga hails from Chhattisgarh and studied journalism at the Asian College of Journalism. He previously reported in Chhattisgarh on Indigenous issues and is deeply interested in covering socio-political, human rights, and environmental issues in mainland and NE India. Presently based in Pune, he reports on civil aviation, other transport sectors, urban mobility, the gig economy, commercial matters, and workers' unions. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn ... Read More
News18
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Political Churn In Bihar? Pawan Singh And Manish Kashyap's Lucknow Meet Sparks Buzz
Last Updated: Ahead of Bihar Elections 2025, Pawan Singh and Manish Kashyap's meeting in Lucknow has sparked speculation about a new political alliance in the state A high-profile meeting between film star Pawan Singh and YouTuber-turned-political commentator Manish Kashyap in Lucknow has stirred the political pot in Bihar, setting off a fresh round of speculation about an emerging alliance or new political front. The encounter, which took place recently, is being widely discussed not only in the entertainment industry but also in the corridors of Bihar politics. What's fuelling the buzz is not just the meeting itself, but the context in which it occurred. Both Singh and Kashyap have been at the centre of recent controversies and are currently seen as disenchanted with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A photograph from the meeting, showing Pawan Singh's mother placing her hand on the heads of both men in a symbolic gesture of blessing, has gone viral, further intensifying public curiousity. Pawan Singh, often called Bhojpuri cinema's 'power star", had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Karakat seat. However, the BJP-led NDA had officially backed former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha on the same seat. Both candidates ended up losing, and Singh has since maintained a conspicuous distance from the BJP, prompting speculation about his future political path. Manish Kashyap, on the other hand, has been openly critical of the BJP in recent months. A vocal online personality with a strong grassroots following, Kashyap exited the party after an alleged assault incident at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), where he claimed he was targeted due to political pressure. Since then, he has levelled several serious accusations against BJP leadership, accusing the party of abandoning core issues and suppressing dissent. Now, their Lucknow meeting is being interpreted as more than just a casual get-together. Political observers see it as a potential realignment, possibly the early signs of a new political formation aimed at challenging existing players in Bihar's volatile electoral landscape. The timing of the meeting is particularly significant. With the dust barely settling on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, political players across Bihar are already shifting focus to the 2025 Assembly elections. The state has a history of political upheavals and surprise alliances, and the emergence of a fresh face or front is never off the table. While there is no official word from either Singh or Kashyap about the purpose of their meeting, insiders suggest discussions may have included future political collaboration, particularly around youth-centric and regional issues. Supporters of Manish Kashyap see this as the beginning of his political reinvention, an attempt to pivot from digital activism to electoral politics. Meanwhile, fans of Pawan Singh are interpreting the development as an effort to build a broader social and political base beyond cinema. The presence of Pawan Singh's mother in the meeting photo adds a layer of symbolism that hasn't gone unnoticed. In a political culture where family blessings and social optics hold weight, the image is being seen as a public endorsement of unity and shared purpose. It's also being interpreted as a subtle signal that something more concrete may be in the works, perhaps an announcement down the line, closer to the Bihar elections. In a state where celebrity appeal and caste equations both play major roles in election outcomes, a coalition or partnership between Singh and Kashyap, backed by their significant social media reach, could emerge as a wildcard. First Published: June 17, 2025, 14:04 IST
The National
13-04-2025
- Sport
- The National
Rugby finals
Action from the the UAE Premiership final between Dubai Exiles (black) v Dubai Hurricanes (yellow) held at The Sevens in Dubai. All pictures by Pawan Singh for The National.
