No road since independence: Rampur villagers risk lives on wooden bridge

NAINITAL: Seventy-eight years after India’s Independence, the residents of Rampur village in Ramnagar block, Nainital district, are still waiting for a proper road. Their only link to the outside world is a fragile wooden bridge built by villagers themselves, now posing serious danger, especially during the monsoon.Every day, around 200 people, including schoolchildren, cross the wooden bridge over the Ramgad River to reach Kotabagh and beyond. During the rains, the river swells, making the ageing structure even riskier. A decade ago, locals had no choice but to wade through the river holding hands or using ropes to cross.Mahesh Chandra, a local resident, told TOI that despite repeated appeals and even a chief ministerial promise of a motor road from Patkot to Rampur Tonia via Kotabagh, nothing has moved on the ground. The proposed 8-km road, sanctioned with an estimated cost of Rs 96.40 lakh, remains stuck because the route passes through the Shivalik Elephant Reserve. A No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the chief wildlife warden has yet to be issued.Chandra added that since 2016, PWD Ramnagar officials have repeatedly written to the forest department, but the required clearance is still pending. Formal reminders from the chief engineer’s office in Dehradun and the forest conservator have also failed to push the file forward.“Generations have come and gone here without ever seeing a proper road,” says Ramesh Chandra, another local. “We built this wooden bridge ourselves to stay connected. It’s dangerous, especially for schoolchildren, the elderly, and during medical emergencies. For every basic need, we must travel to Patkot.”Villagers say that while Rampur was recently declared a revenue village ahead of the first gram pradhan elections, no revenue-related processes have begun.The Executive Engineer of PWD, Ramnagar, in an official reply, confirmed that while the project is approved in principle, work cannot begin until the forest department grants the NOC. Officials claim the matter is being actively followed up.