U'khand villagers' woes continue as roads remain out of bounds

Supplies of essentials to villages hit

Three months after the June calamity in Uttarakhand, damaged roads in Kalimath valley of Rudraprayag district are yet to be repaired forcing villagers to traverse long distance for foodgrains and other essentials.

The valley, which became inaccessible in the June 16-17 deluge, still bears the signs of devastation with heaps of rubble lying at a number of places and both motor and pedestrian roadways still closed.

"Traffic along both motor and pedestrian routes has been suspended for over 100 days after the tragedy," Kalimath village chief (Gram Pradhan) said.

This has brought supplies of essentials to these villages to a grinding halt, forcing residents to traverse several kilometres on foot to bring essentials like rice, wheat and pulses from markets in Guptkashi and Ukhimath, he said.

Residents of Jaal and Chaumasi villages have to walk 15 kms to reach Guptkashi to procure their monthly quota of foodgrains from the Public Distribution System (PDS).

"People make a beeline along the motor roads up to the place where supplies reach," says Satyendra Singh, a youth from Jaal village.

The sight of elderly men, women and children carrying bags of foodgrains on their back and traversing large distances in the difficult hilly terrain is common in the area, says Chandra Singh, who runs a tea stall at Kalimath.

"This is the daily grind for villagers of Tyukhi, Kunjethi, Kabiltha, Chaumasi, Chilaunge, Jaal Malla and Jaal Talla for over three months now," he said.

Joint Relief Commissioner Nitin Bhadauriya, however, claimed there had been an improvement in the situation.

"Things have improved substantially over the past few weeks. I undertook an aerial survey of Kalimath villages on Sunday. At some places, Public Works Department (PWD) personnel seemed to be working at a great pace. I hope things will be perfectly alright soon," he said.