For the 20,000-odd residents of Kalakopa village, life is a balancing act, literally. This is because a makeshift bamboo bridge over the Bhulua river in the remote hamlet is their sole means of communication. In fact, crossing the river to civilisation has been a pain for the residents of Kalakopa in Ramgati upazila of Laxmipur district for decades. For the past 30 years, they petitioned their local authorities for a concrete bridge only to go unheeded.