Pothole monks

Calcutta, India - Official neglect by the National Highways Authority of India and the state public works department led two Hindu monks from the Ramakrishna Mission to tackle a repair of a of a large pothole on the Bally (Vivekananda Setu) bridge in Calcutta, West Bengal, India.

“Every day I face problems while crossing the bridge because of the crater. So I decided to fill it up,” said Swami Divyananda, a member of the board of trustees of the Ramakrishna Mission. “As a citizen of the country I felt I should do something when the authorities are not doing their job. I hope the authorities now repair the road.” The monks brought a number of gunny bags of gravel to the dangerous hole and filled it up, surprising early morning commuters.

One motorist said, "the cracks started appearing five months back. Thanks to the authorities’ neglect, it grew into a death trap. We are grateful to the monks but what the bridge needs is a thorough repair.”