Residents Risk Their Lives As They Cross The River On An Uprooted Tree At Solang

Tag : Shimla

 Manali:  Due to the heavy rains gulping the footbridge which is the only link to the Solang village near there, the residents are forced to risk their lives and to cross the river using an uprooted tree.

About 350 residents of the village were left with no option but to cross over to the other side using the uprooted tree, said Karam Chand, member, Palchan Gram Panchayat. He said that it was especially unsafe for the women and children.

A village resident, Devi Chand said that about 50 students studying in different schools in Buruwa village, Bahang and Manali were the worst hit. It has become very difficult for residents to shift patients to hospital in Manali.

The residents of the Solang village had urged the state government to install a motorable bridge on the river in 2008, when the fire brigade failed to reach the village on time and about 35 houses were gutted in a devastating fire said Sunder Thakur, Pradhan, Palchan Gram Panchayat. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had laid the foundation stone of a 120-meter span motorable bridge over the Solang nullah. He said work is yet to begin, he added.

SDM’s Jayoti Rana from Manali said that the concerned department had been asked to construct the bridge.

Source:  The Tribune.

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