Footbridge constructed using old truck chassis connects remote hamlets in Byndoor Assembly segment

Residents of Rampaiah Jaddu in Udupi district get relief with footbridge made from old truck chassis under MLA initiative.

About 25 families in Rampaiah Jaddu, a remote hamlet on the foothills of the Western Ghats in Kundapur revenue taluk and Byndoor Assembly constituency in Udupi district disconnected from the mainland by the Kubja, can now heave a sigh of relief as their demand for permanent connectivity is being realised.

The residents have got a new footbridge made using an old truck chassis forming the base of the pavement under the Samruddha Byndoor initiative of Gururaj Gantihole, MLA. Rampaiah Jaddu comes under Yadamoge Gram Panchayat near pilgrimage centre Kamalashile, and is about 57 km from Byndoor town.

For decades, the residents crossed the swollen Kubja during the monsoon through a makeshift wooden footbridge. The nearest road connectivity was through Kumtiberu, less than 1 km away from Yadamoge. Most of the residents work as labourers in neighbouring Siddapura and other villages. Fifty-year-old Manjunatha Naika from Rampaiah Jaddu says the demand for a pukka bridge to the mainland was present since his childhood.

Yadamoge resident Yogish Yadiyala said if not the footbridge, Rampaiah Jaddu residents had to use a 6-km roundabout route to reach the mainland. With the footbridge, Yadamoge is just half a kilometre away, he said.

Mr. Gantihole told The Hindu that he conceived the idea of addressing the lack of proper footbridges in the constituency soon after getting elected last year. “My constituency comprises a host of rivers and rivulets, while many villages on their banks do not have proper bridges and footbridges,” he said.

While waiting for government grants even for footbridges was time consuming, he thought of using an old truck chassis as the frame for the bridge pavement supported by concrete pillars. Up to a 20-ft. long footbridge can be built using a truck chassis with concrete pillars support, the MLA said.

Such a construction should not cost more than ₹2 lakh, Mr. Gantihole said, thanking Bengaluru-based Dr. R. Arunachalam Charitable Trust for supporting the initiative.