A bridge that should have been a lifeline. Instead, it’s become a monument to broken promises.
The Kambu Bridge project in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Siang district has remained incomplete for nearly eight years, and patience in the villages it was meant to serve has officially run out. The 150-metre-long structure over the Siyom River, under Kamba Circle in the Liromoba Assembly constituency, was taken up in 2018 with an estimated cost of ₹32 crore under the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF). That’s public money. Taxpayer money. And what do the people have to show for it? A half-built bridge and eight monsoons of isolation.
A Foundation Stone and a Forgotten Promise
The foundation stone for the bridge was formally laid in March 2019. Grand ceremony, photographs, speeches — and then, apparently, very little else. The project, being executed by the PWD’s Yomcha division, has crawled along at a pace that’s hard to explain and harder to justify. Eight years is not a delay. It’s a failure. And somewhere in that gap between a ribbon-cutting in 2019 and today, real people have been paying the price.
What a Bridge Actually Means Here
People in cities take roads and bridges for granted. Out here, they mean everything. The Kambu Bridge is intended to connect Kambu village with Kamba town and provide an all-weather road link to several villages in the area. Think about that phrase — all-weather road link. Local residents have long relied on this project as a crucial connectivity link, particularly during the monsoon, when access to the region becomes extremely difficult. Every year the bridge sits unfinished, another monsoon season cuts off another generation from basic access to markets, hospitals, and schools.
Youth Organisations Step In — Because Who Else Will?
A team from the All 27th Liromoba Youth Organisation, led by its president Banya Yomgam, recently inspected the construction site and expressed concern over the slow progress of the project. These are young people doing what elected representatives and government departments should have been doing all along — showing up, asking hard questions, and demanding accountability. Mr. Yomgam urged the contractor and the concerned PWD authorities to expedite the construction and complete the long-pending project. He didn’t mince words. Nor should he.
Frustration Has Turned Into Anger
The youth organisation said the continued delay has caused deep frustration among local residents, who are awaiting the bridge’s completion for improved connectivity, transportation, and access to essential services. The group also urged the concerned department to take necessary steps to ensure that the remaining work is completed without further delay. The community has been patient — extraordinarily, almost unfairly patient. But ₹32 crore and eight years later, patience is no longer the appropriate response.
When a bridge is built, it signals to people that the government sees them, hears them, and is willing to invest in their future. When it isn’t — when it sits rusting and unfinished year after year — it sends the opposite message. West Siang’s people deserve better. They deserved it in 2018, they deserved it in 2019, and they certainly deserve it now.
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