The privately-built pathway and the worn-out bridge. [Photo/IC]

Private bridge toll triggers controversy

Residents in a village of Guizhou province were forced to build a pathway of their own over a shallow river after a 50-year-old bridge was destroyed in a flood. But the act of charging everyone except students and their parents, a "crossing fee" soon started a controversy.

The bridge on Wengcheng River in Panjiang township, Guiding county, had been used by thousands of villagers and students before it was ruined in a flood on July 16, the China News Service reported on Tuesday.

One month later, after the government failed to repair it or provide another way to help residents cross the river, villager He Laowu built a 100-meter pathway mainly using stones and slabs, and earned up to 200 yuan by charging almost everyone a 1-yuan crossing fee.

"Although the act of charging fees is controversial, the villager has shown his conscience by not collecting money from students," a Web user called Tianya Luyuan said in a comment on 163.com.

Another netizen from Changzhi in Shanxi province supported the toll. "It cost money to build the pathway. What has the government been doing?"

Part of the collapsed bridge. [Photo/IC]

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