Uttarakhand: Villagers risk their lives to collect relief goods

Rudraprayag: After the disaster Uttarakhand residents have been left with very little to survive. Their homes have been washed away or destroyed, roads have vanished and there is not much food or drinking water in several villages. People are suffering due to damaged roads and the collapsed bridges. They are forced to arrange food and drinks for their family.

Just like many others Railgaon, a village in Rudraprayag, is also facing such problems after the disaster. Railgaon is situated on the banks of the river Mandakini along with a dozen of villages, all of whom have been completely cut off from the outside world. The roads and bridges connecting the villages to the outside world were washed away during the June 16 floods.

There is just a wooden bridge that the villagers constructed after the deluge that is now their connection to the outside world. Crossing the river using the bridge is very risky for the villagers but they say that living in the mountains or hilly areas involves such risks. The bridge is the lifeline for the dozen villages along with Railgaon they use it to bring the relief material to their homes.

Sunil, a local resident says, the wooden bridge is very small and dangerous and a small mistake can lead the person falling off and getting washed away by the raging waters of Mandakini river. The bridge is made from woods and its ends have been tied using ropes. The villagers complained that they have not got any relief from the government nor any officer has visited them.

Even to get food and drinking water, the villagers have to walk for two km to Phata and pick them up.

A group of young men reached Phata and carried bags of grain on their shoulder and headed back to their villages on Wednesday. As they were crossing the bridge one by one, a boy slipped and fell into the river. Fortunately he was holding the supporting rope and before the water could wash him away, the other youngsters pulled him out.

The villagers said if they had not constructed the bridge then they would have had to take a detour of 10 km through the hills to reach Phata. Similar problems are being aced by dozens of villages in Uttarakhand. While they wait for government help that is yet to come, the residents are forced to put their lives at risk.