Days after death defying stunts of Gujarat's Kheda villagers crossing canal go viral, work begins to build temporary bridge

Residents of Naika and Bherai villages in Gujarat’s Kheda district can breathe a sigh of relief as a temporary bridge is being constructed over a canal to provide connectivity between the two villages. As pointed out by media reports earlier in the week, residents were putting their lives at grave risk to precariously indulge in acrobatics to cross a canal at Kheda. [caption id=“attachment_4723281” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Villagers constructing a bridge at Kheda. Twitter/@ANI[/caption] A nine-foot-high bridge connecting the two villages, and the only way for locals to commute, has been broken for the past two months. But, as reported by news agency ANI, a temporary bridge is being constructed to help locals cross the canal. Several school students are also expected to benefit from the move, the report said. According to a report in News18 Hindi, the school children have been forced to navigate the canal on foot, thereby risking their lives as well. Locals said that if they do not continue to use this method, they would have to walk 10 kilometres to get to the other side of the canal. They currently walk just one kilometre, according to ANI. The locals have been petitioning for the bridge connecting the villages to be rebuilt, as they use the route for daily commute. ANI reported that Kheda district collector IK Patel has said that “construction work will be resumed immediately”. Reports, however, had said that the repair work was delayed due to heavy rains.