250-metre-long bridge built 4 years ago remains inaccessible to border residents in Arnia sector

STATE TIMES NEWS

Arnia: Built four years ago, 250-metre-long prestressed concrete bridge to connect a population of ten thousand residing in the border belt of Jammu district’s Arnia sector is yet to get an approach road, turning the initiative futile.
The villagers also held a protest over the issue.
The work on the prestressed concrete bridge over Aik Nallah at Sai-Phagla close to the International Border (IB) was completed four years ago, but remains inaccessible for the residents owing to the lack of an approach road.
“We live on Zero-line of the International Border (IB). We had demanded for the bridge. Bridge was completed but the approach road connection is not there. What is fun about the construction of this bridge?” Surinder Singh, a border resident, said.
He said that during recent Pakistani firing, men, women and children had to cross the river in absence of the approach road. “We urged the government to ensure road connectivity to this bridge so that it becomes useful to the passage of border residents,” he said.
Another Sai villager, Ramesh Lal said that they have been facing a problem for over a decade that we don’t have connectivity to our border villages. “They made the bridge after repeated requests to MP and others but failed to provide an approach road to connect with the bridge”, he said.
The government should build 500 metres from the left side of the bridge and a similar approach road on the right side for connecting four border villages, they said.
“We demand road connectivity to the area. Lieutenant governor should address our issue,” a villager said.