Torrential down pour late last week swept away the Akrieha bridge in Aliforkpa, Yache in Yala local government area in the northern part of Cross River State.
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The bridge constructed with wood and iron ralings during the colonial era had for a long time. become a rickety death trap after several decades of serving as the only link between the people of Yache and Okuku the suburban town in the area.
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A source in the area, Mr Matthias Oko, a former journalist with the Newswatch said many villages inhabited by several thousands of people have been cut off effcetively plunging them into further poverty as they cannot take their agricultural products to the Okuku market.
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"And those who have to get to Okuku which is some three kileomttres away when the bridge was in place have to go through Gabu which effectively doubles the journey with the attendant bad road".
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The bridge which serves as a link between the people of Benue and Yala was constructed by colonial engineers to enable colonial officers ride through on their bicyles to tour surrounding villages and was later widened to allow pick vans drive through to the villages to evacuate agrticultural crops from.
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Yache and the adjoining Benue villages to the Okuku market for onward movement to major twosn like Abakaliki, Calabar, Kaduna and Lagos.
Wow! This is a shocking one to me cos I'm sure no one saw it coming.
Anything can really happen!