BETTIAH, July 28 -- Several villagers at Sirisiya Gurlahiya under Naurangiya police station area of Bagaha police district in Bihar's West Champaran district on Monday erected a 50-foot long bamboo 'chachari' (makeshift) bridge over Bhapasa Nalla to prevent crocodile attacks in the area. "Our children, women and farmers cross this route everyday. For us, the lives and safety of villagers is paramount.Therefore, we built a makeshift bridge over the stream for our safety as we could not afford to wait for help," a villager said. Nasim Ansari, range officer of Valmiki Tiger Reserve's Madanpur forest range, said, "The idea was to protect villagers crossing Bhapasa Nalla which has, of lately, become a crocodile-dominated stream due to rise in water level in the Gandak river." The range officer added that the forest department had already installed several signs in the area to warn villagers who cross the stream regularly. The initiative by villagers came amid growing fear among residents following recent crocodile attacks in the area. For the villagers, every trip across the water to reach agricultural lands had become a gamble for some time. A 35-year-old woman survived an attack after villagers rescued her from the water in the village on Sunday, sparking fresh concerns over crocodile attacks in the area. On July 26, Basmati Devi, was injured in a crocodile attack. Earlier, the body of a farmer, Kedar Baitha, who was dragged away by a crocodile, was fished out from the stream on July 23....