Rain wreaks havoc at Sadhupul

SOLAN: Two mini trucks loaded with quarrying material were washed away at Sadhupul village on the way to Chail while trying to cross a river which was in spate yesterday

Updated At : 06:00 AM Jul 18, 2015 IST

<p>The Sadhupul Bridge en route Chail, a portion of which was washed away due to heavy rains on Friday. </p>

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, July 17

Two mini trucks, loaded with quarrying material, were washed away at Sadhupul village on the way to Chail while trying to cross a river which was in spate yesterday.The drivers were rescued by villagers in an hour-long operation.

The area, which had been receiving heavy rain for two days, has been cut off from rest of the region after a portion of a temporary bridge on the river was damaged following downpour. A restaurant and several cottages on the riverbed were also washed away.

Devinder Verma , a local, said the two truck drivers, which were going to Chail, had stopped their trucks to assess the situation when the flooded river washed them away. The locals rescued them with the help of ropes.

The more than century old Sadhupul bridge had collapsed in August last year and a contractor, who was laying the foundation, erected a temporary bridge to facilitate the commuters. His machinery worth lakhs were also washed away.

Superintending Engineer of the PWD Suresh Ganju said the district had suffered a loss of Rs 10.5 crore as nearly 29 roads were damaged and work was underway to restore these. He said the temporary bridge over the Ashwani river at Sadhupul would soon be restored.

The Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department also suffered losses with several projects, including Giri, Ashwani, Kohari, etc, damaged due to the downpour in Solan.