Unfinished bridge cuts off Bageshwar village from medical aid
With the long-promised structure still incomplete after four years, villagers are forced to carry the sick and injured on makeshift stretchers for miles across treacherous terrain.
On Friday, 16-year-old Diwakar Danu, a Class 11 student, suffered a severe spinal injury after falling from a roof. With no motorable access to the village, locals carried him on a stretcher for 8km over rugged terrain to reach the nearest ambulance.
Doctors at the district hospital confirmed a spinal fracture and advised complete bed rest.
The incident has once again cast a spotlight on the long-stalled bridge project over the Pindar River. In 2021, under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), an 11-km road was sanctioned to connect Sorag to the nearest main road. The construction agency, WAPCOS, was allocated Rs 4.5 crore to build the road and a 60-metre bridge.
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While the road has been completed, the bridge remains unfinished, rendering the route impassable for vehicles.
The situation worsens during the monsoon, when river levels rise and isolation deepens. "Authorities built the road but left out the crucial bridge. Without it, we're still cut off. Even the temporary wooden bridge built by us was washed away during the monsoon," said Diwan Singh Danu, a resident.
Nitin Soragi, another villager added, "Stretchers and palanquins have become our emergency transport.
The bridge has been in limbo for years. Generations have waited."
WAPCOS engineer Bishan Lal claimed the bridge between Ungiya and Sorag is "80% complete". "Shuttering and slab work remain. We expect to finish construction by winter," he added.
Sorag isn't the only village struggling. In the Kalapair-Kapdi area, residents are using a risky trolley system to cross the Ramganga River after a suspension bridge collapsed. "We risk our lives every day. The alternative route takes several kilometres on foot," said Vijaya Koranga, a resident.
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