Govt promises bridge by March after 3 villages threaten to boycott 2024 polls

Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh government has assured the people of three villages in West Siang district, who threatened to boycott the 2024 elections, that a bridge will be constructed over the Hijum river by March next year. About 400 people of three villages — Rime Moko, Pidi Rime and Todi Rime — threatened to boycott the elections, if the government fails to construct a permanent bridge over the river.There is a 20-metre-long makeshift bridge over the river that locals made to connect the two sides but it usually goes below the water during the monsoon as the level of Hijum, a tributary of Pisam, rises.Government spokesperson Nyamar Karbak met a team of the Rime Welfare Society (RWS), which has been demanding the bridge, and assured it that the government would sanction funds for the construction of an all-weather road with a bridge over the river.PTI