Udhampur residents demand bridge over Tawi River India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Residents of Udhampur district in Jammu and Kashmir are facing many problems in absence of a bridge over the Tawi River. The Tawi River, which is major left bank tributary of the river Chenab, flows through the city of Jammu. "We don't have any mode of transportation over here. There are two bridges over here, one, which is 15 kilometres away, and the other, which is six kilometres away from here. So, we have to face many hardships to reach the bridge," said Shamsher Singh, a local resident. Due to the rise in water level during the rainy season, transportation becomes very difficult and villagers are forced to take a 16 kilometre long detour. "At present, due to low water levels, we are able to cross through the river, but during the monsoon, the water level rises and it becomes impossible for us to cross the river," Singh added. School children also face a lot of problems while going to school and further, during any medical emergency, people find it very difficult to travel through the long stretch. "Crossing the Tawi River has always been a problem for us. Every year around 10 people die while crossing the river. We had appealed to construct a bridge in front of the District Collector (DC) and the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), but nobody has taken any notice of our situation," said Mani Ram, the village head. He added that they have to wait for hours for the water level to come down to cross the river safely.