Now Reading: Bailey bridge washed away in Uttarakhand, BRO driver missing
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Bailey bridge washed away in Uttarakhand, BRO driver missing
A Bailey bridge over the Tamak drain on the Malari-Niti National Highway in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district was washed away by floodwaters on Monday evening, snapping road connectivity to around a dozen villages…
The Story in Brief
A Bailey bridge over the Tamak drain on the Malari-Niti National Highway in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district was washed away by floodwaters on Monday evening, snapping road connectivity to around a dozen villages including Jumma and Niti, and the border area. A Border Roads Organisation (BRO) driver, Pankaj, a resident of Pithoragarh, went missing after being swept away while observing the floodwaters. A vehicle was also carried off.
Relief teams from the district administration, SDRF and NDRF were dispatched. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed officials to ensure supplies of ration, food and medicines to affected villages are not disrupted. The Meteorological Department has issued a flash flood risk bulletin for 12 districts including Chamoli until Tuesday evening. BRO has started work on alternative arrangements, with traffic expected to be restored within a day or two, said District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi.
The Indian Opinion
The Tamak drain disaster is being called a flash flood, but for years the Joshimath-Niti road has been repeatedly disrupted by floods and landslides in the same drain. The question is not whether the next cloudburst will come, but whether the BRO and the state administration have learned anything from past disruptions. Restoring traffic in a day or two is not enough if the bridge design itself cannot withstand a sudden surge. The real test is whether the CM's orders for ration and medicine supplies are executed before the next bulletin expires.
Sources (2): telanganatoday.com, indiatoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
