The national government has finished the construction of a footbridge in Magarini , Kilifi county that is expected to end plight of villagers who suffered reptile attacks while crossing River Galana. – By Ramadhan Kambi.
The footbridge constructed at a cost of Sh11.5 million has brought a relief to residents of Hawewanje and Shakahola who reported many cases of crocodiles and hippos’ attacks while crossing the River Galana.
The residents had a serious challenge of communicating after the previous footbridge collapsed during the flooding.
That forced residents to cross on foot or small canoes in the crocodile the infested river which constantly led to attacks.
But the government through the efforts of Magarini MP Michael Kingi in 2019 began the process of constructing the bridge.
It’s construction was to take 11 months but due to technicalities, it was extended for three months.
In January this year the project completed and is wide enough to accommodate not only people but even a motorcycle and one car at a time.
This means ambulances responding to emergencies can easily cross the bridge and save a patient who requires referral to Malindi.
Some of the residents were upbeat that the project will have a good positive impact on their oives.
Karisa Kahindi a resident of Hawewanje said they faced challenges in accessing health services and even getting goods.
He said residents in the area rely heavily on to buy foodstuff and other households’ items from Shakahola trading center which has now been made easier due to the completion of the bridge,
“We had to walk long for long distances to the river bank and then wade through the crocodile infested water to cross the other side,’’ he said.
Currently, he said the project will help promote development in the area which previously lacked social amenities including health centers, trading centers.
Hawewanje area he said had only one school and children had to walk for a long-distance to access it.
Mathias Ngowa from a nearby village said he lost some relatives to crocodile attacks while others got serious injuries while crossing the river.
He said the 200 meters crossing was deadly and to date, there are people with huge scars due to the attacks by the crocodiles,
He said with the coming of the bridge, they expect to have no more cases of attacks ad its safe and people do not have to risk wading through the waters.
Apart from Hawewanje the government is also constructing the Bombi footbridge at similar costs which will also address the challenge of hippo attacks.
Down the river, the government is also constructing the Baricho bridge at a cost of sh. 2.1 billion which will help improve the economic development of the area by making the movement of people and goods easier to the market.
