Unfinished bridges force villagers to risk lives between home and fields

From Bagmati to Kamala rivers, government’s broken promises compel hundreds to take perilous boat crossings every day.

Saroj Das, aged 57, of Badaharwa in ward 5 of Durga Bhagawati Rural Municipality boards a shaky old wooden boat to cross the swollen Bagmati river and reach his farmland on the opposite bank. For Das this perilous journey is not a matter of choice, but of compulsion. With no bridge connecting the two sides, Das and hundreds like him face daily risks, especially during the monsoon when the river turns fierce and unpredictable.