ICICI Foundation and HESCO to support the construction of 15 bridges for the benefit of villagers in the Himalayan region
ICICI Foundation and HESCO to support the construction of 15 bridges for the benefit of villagers in the Himalayan region
Ajay Ramola
Mussoorie, Feb 8
To resolve the connectivity challenges and to support the seamless movement of the population residing in rural areas, ICICI Foundation proposes to construct 15 pukka bridges for 66 villages across 7 districts in the Himalayan region.
These bridges would be of great help for the villagers and would alleviate the challenges faced by the villages for their regular commutes.
To implement this initiative, ICICI Foundation is collaborating with Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), a well-known institution that has been working with the communities in the Himalayan belt and has undertaken similar work in the past.
An MoU was executed today at Dehradun between ICICI Foundation and HESCO. The MoU was signed by Mr. Anuj Agarwal, COO, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth and Dr. Anil Joshi, Founder of HESCO.
The construction of these structures would bridge the gap for these villagers towards progress also ensure the safety of villagers.
Speaking on the occasion, Anuj Agarwal COO of ICICI Foundation said, “ICICI Foundation works with the communities and strives to fill the need gaps in a sustainable way. Villages located in the hills often face the problem of having to travel long distances to reach nearby areas due to a stream or river flowing”. An intervention of constructing a bridge to overcome this issue can have a huge impact on education for children and the livelihood of locals. ICICI Foundation is keen to work on this for the benefit of the local population which will also lead to inclusive growth, he added.
Dr. Anil Joshi said,” Connectivity of the Villages in the Himalaya is a big challenge for the villagers, especially for women and children. Due to the absence of any road or bridge over streams and rivulets, people commute via very long distances through mountains and valleys across two villages which also leads to a shortage of resources, a lack of education for children as they cannot visit the schools on the other side. To address the challenge, ICICI Foundation and HESCO shall be constructing 15 Bridges and an MoU has been signed for the same on Tuesday.
