Jeypore, 19th Nov 2025: On the Jaypur–Malkangiri highway at Patraput, there is a 94-year-old bridge built during the British rule. Due to a lack of proper maintenance, the bridge is now in a dangerously unsafe condition. The administration has been urged to take immediate measures to ensure its safety. Otherwise, the Patraput Bridge Safety Committee has warned that they will block National Highway 326 within the next seven days as a form of protest.
Today, members of the Safety Committee met with the Deputy Collector to formally present a memorandum regarding the bridge. Despite repeated written communications to the National Highway Department, no action has yet been taken. The committee emphasized the need to preserve the old bridge.
The bridge was constructed without proper pillars, similar to the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata, using iron and cement. Because of the lack of maintenance, the iron has corroded, and cracks have developed in the supporting pillars due to heavy vehicle traffic. This poses a serious risk of a major accident.
This bridge connects Jaypur to Machkund, Lamataput, Baiparahaguda, Malkangiri district, and neighboring states including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh. Therefore, it is crucial that maintenance is carried out and construction of a new bridge begins before the road is blocked.
Although construction work had begun earlier, contractors abandoned the work midway. The National Highway Department has not yet issued new tenders or taken steps to complete the project. In response, the committee has demanded that the old bridge be maintained and preserved as a historic structure and developed as a tourist site.
Present at the meeting were Safety Committee members Kedar Gauri Das (Bapi), Santosh Pattnayak, Krishna Keshav Shadangi, Bishwajit Nayak, Jitu Nayak, Jagannath Raut, Ramnath Dandsena, Satya Narayan Sahu, and Hemant Khemundu, among others.
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