Two boys drown as bridge on Solang nullah collapses

Kullu, August 16

Two boys were drowned after a temporary footbridge over the Solang nullah near Manali collapsed and was washed away yesterday. Solang village residents had constructed the bridge as a makeshift arrangement. Two children crossing the nullah in spate were washed away along with the bridge that suddenly gave way. Eyewitnesses said that two other persons had a narrow escape.

Kullu SP Gurdev Sharma said that Krishan Kumar, aka Krishit (13), of Goshal village and Rahul (14) of Haripur village were washed away around 3 pm. He added that they were coming from Solang village to Manali with a deity. NDRF, police, Fire Department and administration teams launched a search operation immediately. However, the victims could not be traced yesterday.

Manali SDM Surender Thakur said that the body of one of the boys was recovered today while a hind part of other boy’s body was recovered from the Beas within 4 km downstream of the spot. He added that the bereaved families had identified the bodies.

He said that the body of one boy was handed over to his family members after a post-mortem examination while the hind part of the other was kept in a mortuary. The search operation was underway to trace the remaining body.

The work on a concrete bridge over the Solang nullah to connect the village has been progressing at a snail’s pace for the past seven years. The former Chief Minister had laid the foundation stone of the bridge in May 2015. A Public Works Department (PWD) officer said that the contractor delayed the construction work and a penalty had been imposed on him. He added that about 65 per cent of the work was still incomplete and the contractor had been served a notice to expedite the work or else his contract would be terminated.

Meanwhile, Mandi MP and HPCC president Pratibha Singh has expressed grief over the tragic accident and blamed the state government for it.