By Pillalamarri Srinivas

Copyright deccanchronicle

Adilabad: The construction of temporary iron bridges across streams and rivulets has been proposed for the first time at six locations in Pembi and Utnoor mandals, in the core area of the Kawal Tiger Reserve. The initiative aims to improve road connectivity to interior villages and mitigate the hardships faced by locals due to lack of transportation.Villagers in these areas struggle whenever streams overflow after heavy rains, preventing vehicles from passing or people from crossing. Recently, residents of Gummena-Yaglapur faced severe difficulties in taking the bodies of three lightning victims to the hospital for post-mortem as the Dothivagu stream was overflowing on September 10. In other instances, pregnant women have been forced to deliver babies on stream banks after being unable to cross flooded rivulets to reach government hospitals in Pembi, Kadam, and Utnoor mandals.Since the forest department has not granted permission for permanent cement bridges inside the Kawal Tiger Reserve, the proposal for temporary iron bridges was made to secure early clearances. Khanapur MLA Vedma Bojju met forest minister Konda Surekha and PCCF C. Suvarna, submitting memorandums seeking approval.Bojju explained that while permanent cement bridges require long and difficult clearance processes, temporary iron bridges can be constructed quickly using fitted iron plates and pipes. He said both the forest minister and the PCCF agreed in principle to grant permission, while rural development minister Danasari Anasuya Seethakka sanctioned Rs 17.90 crore for the construction of six bridges.He assured that temporary iron bridges would not disturb wildlife or harm the flora and fauna in the reserve, unlike permanent cement structures. The bridges are expected to come up at Vankathumma and Narsapur (J) in Utnoor mandal, and Yapalguda, Yanglapur, Gummena, and Itikyala villages in Pembi mandal, all within the core area of the Kawal Tiger Reserve.The MLA, along with FROs from Utnoor and Pembi and panchayati raj officials, also visited Tiryani mandal to inspect two temporary iron bridges built across streams by Singareni, citing them as models for the proposed structures.