Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Repair of bridge in Candaba sought
CANDABA -- Farmers and fisherfolk from the distant southeastern Barangay San Agustin in this town appealed to Mayor Jerry Pelayo for the immediate repair of the bridge connecting their village to towns of Plaridel and Baliuag in Bulacan Province.
The farmers and fishermen, who are transporting their produce to the adjacent towns of Bulacan and parts of Nueva Ecija, said the bridge is very important in their trade, as it is the only link connecting them to their markets and consumers.
The bridge started sustaining damage during the onslaught of tropical depression Julian, which inundated the 32,000-hectare Candaba marsh with floodwaters of up to 60 feet - mostly overflows from the Pampanga River, which is the catch basin from waters running down from Nueva Ecija and the San Ildefonso River in Bulacan. The Candaba swamp is said to be the lowest point in Central Luzon, submerging the town and its barangays for prolonged periods during the rainy season.
The bridge's approaches finally collapsed late Tuesday after strong currents pounded its foundations relentlessly.
Only a month ago, heavy rains and massive flooding spawned by Typhoon Frank caused a portion of the Malisik Dike in this town and flooded some barangays adjacent to the dike. Further damage was averted with the local residents' sandbagging operations
Mar Marino, an official of Barangay San Agustin where the bridge is located, said they have already asked authorities from the local government unit for assistance in repairing the bridge to make it passable again.
Classes in the barangay elementary school had been suspended because of five to six feet of floodwaters.
Officials from the town's engineering unit have vowed to look into the damages inflicted on the bridge and conduct immediately the necessary repairs. (JTDL)
