Hundreds of students in five hamlets of Sekotong Timur village,\nLembar sub-district, West Lombok, have been unable to attend school\nsince Monday (23\/2\/2026). The bridge connecting them to the main road\ncollapsed after being hit by a river surge the day before.<\/p>\n
The bridge, which connects Sekotong Timur village and Mareje village,\ncollapsed on Sunday (22\/2). As a result, around 300 families were\ntemporarily isolated for two days because the main access route was cut\noff.<\/p>\n
The head of Sekotong Timur village, Marwan Hakim, said that the\ncollapse of the bridge has impacted at least five schools, from early\nchildhood education to elementary school.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil today, our children have not been able to go to school because\nthey cannot pass through. There are about 200 students at SDN 1 Sekotong\nTimur, but only about 70 have attended. There are also some of our\nresidents who go to school outside the village but cannot pass through,\u201d\nhe told detikBali on Wednesday (25\/2\/2026).<\/p>\n
According to Marwan, not only educational activities have been\naffected. The economic activities of residents in the five hamlets have\nalso been disrupted because access to the main route has been cut\noff.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur residents can no longer go to the market; they have to go around\nthrough the hills. There are also mothers who sell vegetables using\nmotorcycles, but they can no longer pass through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He hopes that the West Lombok Regency government will immediately\nbuild a temporary bridge to restore access for residents. He said that\nit has been four days since the bridge collapsed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, our residents are complaining. That\u2019s why they have\nworked together to find coconut trees and install them. That\u2019s all we\ncan do for now, so that residents can cross,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Marwan also admitted that he was worried that if a temporary bridge\nwas not built immediately, residents who were sick or about to give\nbirth would have difficulty getting prompt treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we have communicated with the local health center, so\nthat they can report in advance if there is someone who is about to give\nbirth and prepare an ambulance to pick them up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Four coconut tree trunks are now the only support for residents to\ncross the river. The coconut tree trunks were installed side by side as\na temporary bridge after the main bridge collapsed.<\/p>\n
The bridge was the only connection between Sekotong Timur village and\nMareje village in Lembar sub-district. The disruption of access has\nhalted the distribution of goods and the mobility of vehicles.<\/p>\n
As observed by detikBali at the location on Wednesday (25\/2\/2026),\nresidents were queuing on both sides of the temporary bridge. A number\nof residents helped the elderly and children who had difficulty crossing\nthe coconut tree trunks over the river. Motorcycles and trucks had to be\nparked on both sides because they could not pass through.<\/p>\n
A local resident, Rohidi, said that in addition to the main bridge,\ntwo other connecting bridges were also damaged due to the strong river\ncurrent after it rained for three days.<\/p>\n
(dpw\/dpw)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hundreds-of-students-unable-to-attend-school-due-to-bridge-collapse-in-lembar-1772057633", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }