When roads vanish: Bike on back, hope on the shoulders!

Life in Sirmaur’s Trans-Giri region has come to a standstill after five days of continuous rain washed away rural roads, but one extraordinary act by a young man has caught everyone’s attention. In Kulthina village of Aanjbhoj area, private school teacher Kanwar Singh Thakur was seen carrying a motorcycle on his back to cross a swollen seasonal stream after the road turned into a muddy ruin.

The video, which has gone viral on social media, shows a group of young men helping him lift the bike before he balances it across his shoulders and makes his way carefully through the slippery stretch. The unusual sight has become a symbol of the daily struggle faced by thousands of villagers who find themselves cut off whenever the rains wreak havoc on their only road links.

For the past week, the Kandela–Dana Khala road has been choked with debris, slush and deep potholes, making it impossible for vehicles to pass. Villages like Rajpur, Dana, Navi, Lobhi, Kirog, Sainaw, Shyamla, Kandela and Adwal remain stranded, with no easy way to reach markets, hospitals or schools. People are now forced to risk their safety, crossing streams on foot or carrying goods and even vehicles across broken patches.

Elders in the area recall how this road has been neglected for years. Every monsoon, the story repeats itself: landslides, washed-away stretches and villagers left at the mercy of nature. Despite countless complaints, locals say the authorities have failed to provide a lasting solution.

The image of a man lifting his bike on his back is being shared far and wide, not just as a viral clip but as a reminder of the hardships faced by remote communities. For the people of Trans-Giri, it is not just about one extraordinary moment caught on camera, but about the daily resilience they are forced to show in the absence of basic infrastructure.