Kathmandu Post

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Twine bridges imperil lives in remote hills

KANCHANPUR, AUG 20 -
Ropeways are risky means of transport. Many people have died or gone missing crossing rivers with the help of ropeways in rural hilly areas of the country.

Despite the risk attached, residents of Darchula and Bajhang districts have no option but to use twine bridges while going to Indian cities and other areas in the districts.  People in Dhaulakot, Brahmadev and Rapla in Darchula and Surma and Daulichaur in Bajhang, that border India, are forced to use ropeways to go to the district headquarters and the Indian cities, risking their lives.

They depend on Indian cities for essential commodities and jobs. Twine bridges are operated in about a dozen places in the VDCs for most of the year.

Risky as they are, ropeways have claimed many lives. Last year, engineer Rajendra Neupane went missing in a twine accident while crossing the Mahakali river at Bartighat in Darchula. A villager said that two to three people on an average lose their lives every year in twine accidents.

“As most of the twine bridges are illegally operated, they are unreliable,” said Jaya Singh Dhami, project officer for the Darchula District Develop-ment Committee. To add to the peoples’ woes, Indian security force Sashastra Seema Bal time and again disconnects the facility by cutting ropes, saying the link has fuelled smuggling. Dhami said people repair the ropeway by fastening weak ropes after the SSB cuts it. This further increases the risk of accidents. The situation is no different in Bajhang district. “We have been using twine as the nearest suspension bridge is too far,” said Kalak Bohara of Surma VDC. He said people, especially the elderly, find it hard to cross a river via the ropeway. People say their troubles would be addressed if the government built suspension bridges at high-traffic intersections.

Posted on: 2011-08-21 09:24

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