People living in the mountainous regions of the State continue to face hardships and danger due to State Government’s failure in learning lessons from the last year’s disaster. Five persons are feared drowned in the Alaknanda river after an alternative suspension bridge they were using to cross the river on Sunday broke. The bodies of the five persons were not recovered though search operations continued on Monday.
Even before the advent of monsoon in Uttarakhand, the level of water in rivers has started rising but the authorities have not yet taken the required action. On Sunday five persons were crossing an alternative suspension bridge spanning the Alaknanda river near Benakuli when one of the ropes holding the bridge snapped.
The youths were carried away by the strong current of the river. According to local sources, Benakuli residents Manish, Suraj, Kuldip along with Hanuman Chatti residents Nabbu and Manoj were using the bridge to cross the river to reach the Badrinath highway while returning from Khiroghati in the evening.
The five youth fell into the river after a rope holding the bridge snapped and the swift flow coupled with rising waters of the river have prevented the authorities from finding the bodies so far. More than a year has passed since the June 2013 disaster wreaked havoc across the State.
Scores of bridges were washed away in the flood but many of these have not yet been rebuilt by the authorities. Due to this, the villagers have erected temporary bridges across rivers and nullahs. The locals complain that in spite of claims being made by the State Government, many bridges destroyed last year have not been rebuilt and other works in disaster affected areas have not been completed yet at a time when the advent of the monsoon season is not far away. The arrival of the monsoon in Uttarakhand will exacerbate the problems being faced in disaster affected areas, fear the locals.