Offering shramdan for a bridge

madhotanda, pilibhit: a bridge on the khanauth river in shahgarh area, being constructed through shramdaan, is nearing completion. it is an exemplary example of voluntary service, dedication and hard work of thousands of people. the total expenditure on the bridge would be to the tune of rs 40 lakh. overwhelmed by the people's response, the local mp and central minister, ms maneka gandhi, has given rs 5 lakh from her mp fund and local mla has released rs 1 lakh from his vidhayak nidhi.the rest of the money comes through public donations. had the bridge be constructed by a government agency it would have cost over rs 1 crore. besides, the time taken for the construction would have been also a few years more as compared to only three months taken by kar sewaks in finishing the bridge. usually it is taken for granted that the government is responsible for the launch of development works. but the people in shahgarh have proved that determination and unity can overcome all hurdles. as an old bridge was severely damaged a few decades ago villagers were forced to commute an unnecessarily long distance to reach the district headquarters. the residents of this area tried to persuade local leaders to take up the project but to no avail. finally, the locals decided to construct the bridge through kar sewa. baba shisham singh of nader saheb in maharashtra took up the challenge and started the project on june 2, 2001. he also encouraged people to offer shramdan in the noble project. baba sardara singh of amaria nank gurdwara, who also led a team of kar sevaks, said that thousands of kar sevaks, including men and women from nearby villages, worked from morning till late in night daily to complete the bridge in record time. langars were also arranged for the kar sevaks, he said and added that a government engineer had already inspected the construction work and had cleared the bridge on technical grounds. in fact, we have many experienced technicians, he added.