Uttarkashi: Villagers put life at risk, cross Bhagirathi river on damaged trolley ropes

Crossing the Bhagirathi river becomes quite a task, especially for children, older people, and pregnant women since this place is accident-prone and dangerous. Even after continuous complaining, the administrative officials did not pay any heed to them.

Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand): The villagers of Syuna in Uttarkashi's Uttarakhand demand an electric trolley for crossing the Bhagirathi river which overflows on the arrival of the monsoon every year. Crossing the Bhagirathi river becomes quite a task, especially for children, older people, and pregnant women since this place is accident-prone and dangerous.

A wooden bridge along the river bank gets washed away every year, making the trolley traveling hanging on shabby ropes a compulsion for commuting leaving them with no choice. Villagers are crossing the Bhagirathi river by using unpaved culverts and trolleys.

The villagers of Syuna have been appealing to the government and the administration who have not been able to find a permanent solution in place of trolleys. The villagers are commuting on this shabby trolley and are putting their lives at risk by crossing the overflowing rivers since 2021. The biggest problem faced by the villagers is during the rainy days when the water level of Bhagirathi rises significantly.

The biggest problem is for school children, and pregnant women since traveling on this trolley which is hanging on to shabby ropes are highly dangerous and life-threatening. However, the villagers have no option but to reach the other side by pulling the rope off the trolley. Children miss their school because their parents fear accidents due to the weak ropes.

Where the trolley was installed, the ground has also sunk. With the dangerous situation of commuting the villagers have been urging the district administration to install the electronic run trolley. However, the public representatives and the administration had turned deaf ears to pleas to replace the shabby ropes holding the trolley.

The gloomy faces of the villagers ask "who will be responsible if there is a major accident in a dilapidated trolley? Even after informing the administration officials the situation remained the same." Talking to ETV Bharat some women villagers said, "Major problems are faced by small school children, and when someone in the village falls sick or a pregnant woman needs to be taken to the hospital, the question arises of how to cross the overflowing Bhagirathi river."

The villagers met the District Magistrate on Tuesday and demanded to install an electronic trolley within 15 days. District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhela said, " trolley ropes have been damaged in Syuna. The Public Works Department has been instructed to get the damaged trolley repaired soon."