A bridge over the Sutlej in 27 days

By P.K. Vasudeva

THE havoc wreaked by a cloudburst on the Wangtu area in August last year was devastating. The turbulent Panwi Khud pushed tonnes of debris into the Sutlej river, about 1.5 km from Wangtu. The rubble blocked the flow of the Sutlej, forming a lake, now known as the Wangtu lake. The lake posed a serious problem to the transportation of Kinnauri apples. Besides having a huge export potential, apples are in great demand in Chandigarh, Mumbai, Calcutta and other cosmopolitan cities of the country. The disruption of road communication was a big financial loss to the Himachal Government and the apple growers.

The Wangtu bridge was completely buried under the rubble and the silt. A bridge on the Bhaba Khud also met with a similar fate. As a result, the Sutlej river changed its course and the approach road to the Wangtu bridge was washed away.

The administration and the Army decided to end the chaos by constructing a Bailey bridge on the Bhaba Khud and a Bailey suspension bridge (BSB) on the Sutlej. The approach road to Wangtu (left side of the flowing river) was to be made by the PWD and the approach road to Karcham (right side of the flowing river) was to be made by GREF. The preparatory work for the construction of the BSB was to be undertaken by the PWD.

The administration was confronted with the problem of finding a way to carry the apples, men and material across the Wangtu block. The local administration managed to put in service two boats and a 70-metre-long aerial cableway, called Span, to facilitate the movement.

The Army as usual was called in to help the civil authorities. The task was given to 107 Engineer Regiment "Shatrujeet’’. There was no proper road to the Wangtu side of the lake. A narrow footpath in the rugged terrain was made. Using this strip, four BAUTs and six OBMs were brought to the lake site. The strip was later developed and widened. When the BAUTs were initially inducted, as many as a 50 persons were employed to drag in a single BAUT with the help of ropes. The risk to life was tremendous, but the sappers did not suffer any casualties. One of the sappers, however, lost his life in flash floods during the BSB operations. The task was difficult, but the Shatrujeets did it.

Meanwhile, Maj R.S. Sharma of the Shatrujeet surveyed the SH-30 (Gramphu-Kaza-Sumdo road) and confirmed the suitability of the road. Three more BAUTs were inducted via SH-30. One of the BAUTs, however, got damaged when it was being launched. GREF was finding it difficult to move its personnel to more sites, and at one site, which had a cliff, there was no place to keep the compressor. The Shatrujeets, however, managed to make a twin BAUT raft for the compressor. BAUTs were also deployed for the movement of Army personnel, civilians and stores. By this time, the Kunjam pass and the SH-30 highway had been opened to public. The state government announced subsidy for the additional expenditure incurred to cart apples by this route. Obviously, stress was laid on sending apples by NH-30 and further via Manali. But soon people realised the availability of the waterways and started sending apples and empty apple boxes through the Wangtu block. Instead of going via Kaza and Manali, the locals found it more convenient to transport apples through the Wangtu block.

Soon the traffic on the Wangtu side became heavy. Shatrujeets brought an 18-tonne raft on the site. There were no ramps available for launching it. Shatrujeets improvised and devised a way out. A ferry was organised for the safety of the raft.

Then the raft was made operational and 25.7 tonnes of apples were ferried across. A truck-load of apples could be ferried in this 18-tonne raft without getting wet.

The raft was supported by two safety BAUTs. The site soon became a small shopping centre. It became difficult to regulate the increasing traffic there.

On September 30, an IV size dozer of GREF was shifted to another site by the raft. It was one of the most difficult tasks done by the sappers. October 1 was yet another eventful day for the sappers. At 5 pm, a blast was carried out by the GREF personnel on a nearby site. Suddenly a big chunk of rock fell into the lake, from a height of 20 metres.

People standing on both sides of the lake panicked. Boats and rafts were thrown off balance and improvised jetties were shattered to pieces. Army personnel along with the SDM, Nichar, Kinnaur, brought the situation under control. The compressor had sunk 50 ft to 60 ft deep into the water, but the BAUTs were saved by the sappers. The second raft was ready for launch on October 3, 1997.

Col C.J. Pal, the Commanding Officer of the Shatrujeet, said that between September 4, 1997, and April 20, 1998, the sappers had carried 56,093 personnel, 2186 tonnes of essential commodities, 3.23 lakh apple boxes and 911 vehicles.

The construction of the BSB started on the Sutlej as planned on June 1, 1998. Since the spot had cliffs on both sides, the Shatrujeets had a hazardous task ahead. The work on the bridge began under the leadership of Major J.K. Kumar.

On June 20 due to flash floods in the Bhaba Khud the Patni Khud, one sapper lost this life. The bridge was completed on June 27 this year, and was inaugurated by Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal. The Chief Minister praised the Shatrujeets and announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh for the welfare of sappers who worked day and night for the construction of the bridge over the Sutlej.

The Shatrujeet Engineer Regiment did a commendable job against heavy odds in a record time of about 27 days.