Patients, injured and ill taken on back, stretchers and palanquins as most village road blocked due to landslides in remote areas of Uttarakhand
Patients, injured and ill taken on back, stretchers and palanquins as most village road blocked due to landslides in remote areas of Uttarakhand
B.D.Kasniyal
Pithoragarh, Aug 23
There is no end to the woes of the villagers living in the remote mountainous region during the ongoing monsoon season as many village roads have been washed away making it difficult for the common people particularly ill and aged to reach towns and cities for treatment in Uttarakhand.
Two old aged villagers, who fell ill in Ralam village of Munsiyari sub-division of Pithoragarh district, had to be carried on a temporary stretcher by village youth to 36 km roadside travelling 3 days as the roads linking the village were closed due to landslides following monsoon rains.
“Two of our villagers, Chandra Singh Dhakariyal and Trilok Singh, (60) who had gone to collect ‘Yarsagumba’ in a nearby meadow, fell ill a week ago, as the road was blocked and weather was not favourable for helicopter sortie, we had to gather village youths to carry both ill persons to nearby road side on stretchers made by villagers. The village youths took three days to reach roadside spot of Lilam and from there the patients were taken to Munsiyari,” said Vijay Singh Dariyal, a Block Development Committee (BDC) member from Ralam village.
Both the patients have now been referred to Haldwani from Munsiyari for better treatment,” said Dariyal.
The village youths took 3 days to the roadside spot of Lilam. They travelled 12 km per day on rugged and slippery tracks.”They spent first night in Marjhalu village and second night in Pato village on way to Lilam,” said the villagers.
Earlier, two days ago, Vir Singh Rawat, a resident of Jalna village in Kotbagh block of Nainital district had to carry his young daughter on his back for 22 kilometers for treatment. His daughter had injured her foot and was unable to walk and needed urgent medical treatment. The courageous father took her on his back and walked the mountainous terrain to reach Kotbagh. The Devipura-saud road linking 25 villages of the area is blocked for the past 20 days forcing Vir Singh Rawat to carry his daughter to hospital on his back.
According to District Disaster Management Office of Pithoragarh district, continuous rains have affected normal life in Munsiyari and Bangapani sub-divisions of the distrtict .”With the closure of more than 36 village roads including Nachni to Talla Bhaiskot road, Thal to Munsiyari road, the normal lives in the people in that area have been paralysed.”Several vehicles taking essential goods with them are trapped on these roads as the debris is not yet been removed due to continuous rains,” said Narendra Dariyal, a villager in Ralam village
