The Monks Who Built a Bridge

The old Bally bridge spanning the Hooghly has been virtually abandoned by the state Public Works Department and the National Highways Authority of India ever since the new one beside it came up.

The old Bally bridge spanning the Hooghly has been virtually abandoned by the state Public Works Department (PWD)  and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) ever since the new one beside it came up. The bridge connects Dakshineshwar temple complex with Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission. Many monks of the order who have to shuttle between the temple complex and the Math have been finding the commute hazardous, thanks to huge craters. Earlier this week, the monks decided to undertake the repair works on their own, and, with bags full of gravel, got on to the bridge to fill the worn-out patches. Some motorists joined in as well. Suitably shamed, the NHAI, which has so far been saying that it is the state PWD’s job, has now promised to repair the bridge.

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Jaideep Mazumdar