3 school children injured as wooden bridge collapses

Villagers showing broken wooden logs that served as bridge on Nallah. —Excelsior/K Kumar
Villagers showing broken wooden logs that served as bridge on Nallah. —Excelsior/K Kumar

Excelsior Correspondent

UDHAMPUR, Mar 19: Three school children were critically injured when a temporary bridge of wooden logs on Kund Nallah collapsed at Rassin in Ramnagar Tehsil, here today.
The victims were crossing the Nallah while on their way to home from High School Rassin when the wooden bridge collapsed. Some locals rushed the injured students to Sub District Hospital Ramnagar.
They were identified as Ajeet Singh, son of Vijay Kumar, Onkar Singh, son of Kasturi Lal, both students of 12th standard and Karpal Singh, son of Kasturi Singh, a student of 11th Class.
Though these students sustained serious injuries and fractures, their condition was stated to be out of danger.
Following the incident, locals held protested against Pubic Works(R&B) Department and District administration Udhampur for their failure to construct a concrete bridge over the Nallah despite repeated pleas of the villagers.
The villagers appealed to the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to pay attention towards their long pending demand for construction of concrete bridge.
Pertinent to mention that because of no concrete bridge on Nallah, people of Chappad, Pattangarh, Pachound, Latti, Dhuna are using wooden logs that serve as temporary bridge for foot link between Rassin and Ramnagar. The locals, including school going students and patients going to Hospital, have no other alternative but to cross through this damaged bridge.