In Nitish Kumar’s Home District, An Unfinished Bridge Turns River Crossing Into Death Trap - A Ground Report
For 25 years, thousands have risked lives crossing a river, as political apathy and broken promises keep a bridge restricted to paper, reports Mahmood Alam.
Published : April 8, 2026 at 4:23 PM IST
Nalanda (Bihar): “It’s good that the river has dried up now… people can at least walk across. If there’s water or a flood, they have to swim and many have been swept away or drowned over the last 25 years.” The words of Kaushalendra Prasad, a freedom fighter associated with the JP movement, carry the weight of grief and simmering anger. And his words are not just recollection of his experience but an indictment of systemic neglect over years.
In Nalanda, the home district of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, though development is often showcased as a success story, tucked away in one corner of the district is a stark, unsettling reality of a broken promise that has taken many lives in the last two decades or more.
For nearly 1.5 lakh people across 50 villages in the Asthawan assembly constituency, the unfinished bridge over the Noniya River in Nanour village is a danger lurking in the form of an infrastructure gap. It is the story of survival and tragedy.
The story dates back to the year 2000, when then MLA Satish Kumar laid the foundation stone for the bridge, raising hopes of a direct route between Nalanda and Sheikhpura districts. The project, initially budgeted at around Rs 36 lakh, promised to reduce the travel distance from 36 kilometres to just eight between the two places and most importantly, the bridge showed hopes for access to schools, hospitals and markets, without risking lives.
But after some initial earthwork, construction stopped. Governments changed, promises were repeated, but the structure remained frozen in time, an incomplete skeleton of cement and rusting iron. Today, for residents of villages like Mutibigha, Kashibigha, Ibrahimpur, Rasalpur and Nanour, the consequences are there for everyone to see and pity. Brutal, during the monsoon, when the river swells, it is nothing less than life risk while crossing it.
Parmanand Prasad, an elderly villager, describes the ordeal with helplessness. “Look at our fate. Even today, we are forced to risk our lives and swim across the river. When the current is strong, our feet tremble and we literally fight with death. But we do not have any option," he says.
It is not only about Prasad alone, but hundreds who are forced to cross the river daily, for education, healthcare, or livelihood. For them, every crossing is a gamble. The toll has been devastating. While official data is unavailable, locals say many lives have been lost over the years. “People from several villages have drowned while trying to cross. It makes news for a day, but nothing changes,” says Kaushalendra Prasad.
For Raviranjan, a local youth, the struggle has been relentless. He claims to have approached the Chief Minister’s Janata Darbar at least 50 times. “We were given assurances, dates and a timeline made to move the files but in vain,” he says.
The failure, Prasad says, goes beyond administrative apathy. He alleges that vote bank politics stalled the project. “This area has a dominant Yadav population. Perhaps leaders didn’t get the expected votes here. The project suffered because it became a casualty of political equations,” he claims.
When the work began, the cost was around Rs 36 lakh. But internal disputes, personal grudges and murky politics allegedly contributed to halt everything midway. "The matter even landed me in jail. After that, the project was buried,” he adds.
Years later, after his release, Prasad renewed his efforts, persistently knocking on administrative doors. His struggle appears to have finally stirred a movement. A fresh blueprint has now been prepared, and a new tender worth Rs 5 to Rs 5.5 crore approved. A foundation stone was briefly laid during recent elections but removed after the model code of conduct came into force, reviving fears that the project may once again be reduced to a political gimmick.
Officials, however, assure that work will begin soon. Construction is expected to start after the wheat harvest, once access roads are cleared.
Contacted, Bind Block Development Officer Mohammad Zafaruddin admitted he had no concrete information about the project. “Since it falls under MLA or MP funds, there may have been political reasons for the delay. I don’t have details,” he said.
His response makes one thing clear that utter administrative failure, where accountability is diffused and urgency is absent, can lead to disastrous consequences.
Today, the abandoned structure at Nanour stands as an eye-sore that pokes of broken promises, where official assurances remain confined to files, while villagers risk their lives every day.
For now, residents of 50 villages pin hope on yet another promise. If this time construction begins, it will not just connect two districts, it will reconnect people to safety, dignity and hope after 25 years of waiting.
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