The building of the temporary bridge on the Alaknanda at Govindghat has been welcomed by the animal rights volunteers and the owners of horses and mules who were rescued from Hemkund where they had been stranded for about a month.
Former Chief Minister Maj Gen (retd) Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri has also thanked the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for constructing the bridge and facilitating the rescue of the stranded animals.JP Maithani of AAGAAS Federation which was one of the voluntary organisations involved in the animal rescue efforts, said that of the more than 800 equines stranded on the other side of the Alaknanda, at least 18 died from stomach ailment and other problems after they were stuck on June 16.
Surprisingly, no one from the Forest Department and Zila Panchayat, who collect tax from the horse-mule owners, were present at the site. Former CM BC Khanduri, Horse-Mule Union head Naresh Sanwal and Gram Pradhan BS Pangti have thanked the BRO for constructing a temporary bridge on the Alaknanda which facilitated the rescue of the stranded mules in Hemkund area.
It should be recalled that owners of the equines had been on hunger strike at Joshimath demanding immediate rescue of the stranded animals and owners from the route to Hemkund. Khanduri had met the protesters and held talks with BRO officers on the construction of the temporary bridge.