PNS|Ongole
A sinkhole formed along the bridge on the Gundlakamma rivulet at Bodicharla village on Monday, affecting traffic between Bodicharla village and Turlapadu village on the Kambham road in Markapuram mandal. Many vehicles, including school buses, go on the road daily. Since the sinkhole was noticed around 7 am, major accidents could be averted, officials said.
Vehicular traffic on the Kambham-Turlapadu village was suspended. However, some two wheelers are going on the bridge taking risk.
The villagers said that the bridge was constructed about 50 years ago. The Gundlakamma rivulet swells after a heavy spell of rain disrupting vehicular traffic on the road. During cyclones the flood water overflows on the bridge. The bridge is very much useful to the nearby villagers who commute between Tarlapadu and Kambham.
The leaders told them that a new bridge was sanctioned in the place of the old bridge and a bypass road was also sanctioned but the construction of the bridge has not yet begun. The collapse of the bridge would add woes to the villagers of Bodicharla. The villagers appeal to the leaders and officials to expedite the process of construction of a new bridge at the earliest.
