Monsoon misery deepens in Sonitpur as crops rot & broken bridge isolates villages

Sonitpur, June 4: An unfinished bridge meant to connect Bihaguri with the Jhawani-Tinikhoria area now stands as a precarious monument to stalled development.

Launched in 2024 under the Chief Minister’s Road Improvement Scheme, the project was designed to enhance connectivity between Bihaguri and Jhawani.

A total of Rs 3.86 crore was sanctioned for blacktopping and upgrading three crucial roads in the constituency — Borchan Road (Bahbari Gaon Panchayat), the Manizharoni stretch, and the link between National Highway 15 and Jhawani.

However, nearly two years later, the bridge remains incomplete, leaving the residents of southern Bihaguri Mouza cut off and vulnerable.

With floodwaters rising, the absence of a functional connection has turned daily life into a struggle — especially for students, commuters, and farmers.

“Before the monsoon, the administration had time to complete the work, but they didn’t. Now we are bearing the brunt,” said a resident.

In the Borsola constituency, the flooded approach roads have completely severed access between Bihaguri and the Jhawani-Tinikhoria belt.

With no alternative route, residents are trapped in their homes or forced to wade through chest-deep water.

“We’re in a dire situation. My son had an exam yesterday, and I had to carry him across the submerged road on my shoulders. If this continues, how will our children even attend school?” said another local, echoing the community’s growing anxiety.

Meanwhile, in Sootea, farmers are grappling with massive losses as persistent rains have inundated hundreds of bighas of farmland in areas such as Patiyagaon. The worst hit are pumpkin growers, whose fields now lie underwater.

“Many of the pumpkins have already rotted. Even those we managed to harvest early are spoiling because of the damp. Prices have crashed to Rs 4 per kg — half of what we earned last year,” lamented a farmer.

With no relief in sight and market demand shrinking, farmers are urging the government and district authorities to step in with immediate support and compensation.

As both infrastructure and livelihoods crumble under the weight of negligence and natural calamity, the people of Sonitpur are left waiting — for solutions, for aid, and for promises to be fulfilled.