Dozens of villages are still disconnected due to the absence of a bridge on the Chintavagu river in North Bastar. Taking cognizance of this serious matter, the Chhattisgarh High Court has given strict instructions to the state government. On Thursday, the division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Kumar Sinha and Justice B.D. Guru told the government during the hearing that information about the work order for bridge construction should be presented in the court within ten days.

Children have to cross the river to go to school
The situation is even more worrying in Dantewada and surrounding areas. Here children have to cross the broken culvert and the overflowing river to reach school. The court expressed serious concern over this and said that playing with the lives of children cannot be tolerated. The court took suo motu cognizance of it as a sensitive issue and sought a detailed reply from the state government.

Putting children's lives at risk is unacceptable
The court clearly said that the compulsion of children to cross the river to go to school is very dangerous. This is a matter related to the lives of children and any kind of negligence cannot be tolerated in this. The court said that the government will have to take immediate steps so that children and villagers can get safe transportation.

State government responded

On behalf of the state government, the Advocate General (Advocate General of Chhattisgarh) informed that the work order for the construction of the bridge is being issued. The tender process has been completed through the district level committee. The government has sent a proposal to the Center for the construction of a big bridge. After resolving the technical objections, the revised detailed project report (DPR) has been sent to the Home Ministry on August 20. Earlier, the Center had sought clarification on 12 points, which has been resolved.