Every bridge loves a good rain

Sarika Sharma in Chandigarh

Less than four months after it was erected, the Bailey bridge connecting either banks of Beas river in Akhara Bazaar of Kullu lies severely damaged by the rains, but the locals are not surprised. They say just anybody with a basic understanding of the river and its waters could predict that the bridge will be washed away just as the level rises.

“The approach road was low and kutcha. We always knew that it would not survive even one rain, and that is exactly what happened,” says Rajeev Parmar, assistant professor of botany at Government Degree College, Kullu. The recent floods carried away the approach road from the left bank, increasing the traffic congestion on the road through Kullu district’s main market, Akhara Bazaar. The road was put together in April after the main bridge at Bhootnath developed cracks. However, with this bridge now rendered useless and the Bhootnath bridge still awaiting repairs, people are in for tough times. Daily commuters like Sunil Bharti, a lawyer, say harassing times are here again.

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Former MP, BJP leader Maheshwar Singh says all his efforts to point faults in the bridge, while it was being constructed, fell on deaf ears. “I had anticipated this right in the beginning and discussed the problems with the PWD XEn. The approach road from the left bank had been dragged till the middle of the river while the packing was kept loose. At the same time, the approach road from the right bank was made all concrete. The pressure had to come to the weaker side. The bridge is now hanging in the middle of nowhere. Had they spent Rs 8-10 lakh then and at least made it concrete, we would not have been suffering now,” he says.

Kullu Deputy Commissioner Richa Verma says it was a makeshift bridge and the original Bhootnath bridge would soon see repairs and be functional before Dussehra festivities start. She refuses to comment on the technical faults. However, Maheshwar doesn’t mince words when he says: “It seems they were waiting for it to go.”