Villagers build makeshift bridge on Neugal

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, July 1

Despite repeated requests, the state government has failed to construct a bridge on the Neugal, forcing residents of about 12 villages of Thural Tehsil to build a makeshift bridge with steel and wooden logs with the money contributed from their own pockets.

During rain, villages of Thural, including Kona, Garthoon, Choka, Umri and Duke are cut off from the rest of Kangra district every year. Before the onset of the monsoon, villagers construct a bridge over the Neugal every year.

“Residents are spending sleepless nights as it will be difficult for them to take patients to hospitals, send children to schools and buy essential commodities from local markets during the monsoon. They have constructed the bridge without any financial support from the administration,” said Vijay Kumar, a villager.

While talking to The Tribune, many villagers said the local MLA and the district administration were aware of their problems, but no action had been taken.

They alleged that after the elections, the local leaders did not visit the villages even once. The villagers have been demanding the construction of bridge from 1990.

Villagers said the pedestrian bridge constructed by them was washed away during the monsoon last year. Without any support from the state government, villagers constructed the makeshift bridge on their own. The bridge would help them reach their villages within ten minutes, unlike the long route which took them about one hour, they said.