Spiti’s forgotten bridge

Abhimanyu Pandey

Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh has for long been known for its sublime Trans-Himalayan landscapes, Tibetan Buddhist cultural heritage and rare high-altitude wildlife. In the realm of architecture, Spiti is globally renowned for its several ancient Buddhist monasteries and temples. These have been extensively studied by renowned Tibetologists since the early 20th century. However, there is one structure in Spiti that almost all visitors to the valley drive past without realising its historical importance. This is the now-derelict suspension bridge at Attargu. It is the only structure in all of Spiti built in the distinctively colonial style. This ruined bridge stands right next to the functional bailey bridge, which today connects Spiti valley to the Pin valley.

The Attargu bridge is a testimony to the perception about Spiti among the British. Spiti became a part of British India in 1846 following the British victory in the Anglo-Sikh wars. It was made a part of the Kullu sub-division of Kangra district, which then lay in Punjab. The British authorities soon realised that it made little sense in trying to directly administer Spiti, for three reasons. First, in those days, the valley could only be reached by at least 10 full days of hard trekking from the headquarters at Kullu. This, too, was possible only three or four months a year, since the Kullu-Spiti routes were heavily snowbound the rest of the year. Second, Spiti had little economic value, as it did not lie on any major Trans-Himalayan trade route, and did not have much produce of its own. Third, this region was scantily populated, and that too by a people who were not given to rebellion or violence. As such, in 1873, the British decided to delegate most judicial and administrative powers to the Nonos of Kyuling village, near Kaza. The British made no substantial efforts at improving Spiti’s connectivity, or in making their own presence more permanently visible there. The only exceptions were the construction and repair of a few bridges. Among these, the only one to bear a distinct imprint of colonial-style architecture was the Attargu suspension bridge.

The construction of this bridge was undertaken by the Punjab Public Works Department and it was completed in 1911. Visually, it resembled the bigger and more ornate Victoria Bridge built at Mandi in 1877, as well as the Sheetla Bridge built at Chamba in 1894. It consisted of two vertical towers of stone and mortar built on either side of the raging Spiti river. Iron cables suspended from the two towers held a horizontal metal frame, which supported a deck of wooden planks. The bridge could comfortably carry pedestrian traffic, as well as laden mules.

It was built below a cliff to protect it from avalanches, and was located near Dhangkar, the capital of Spiti in those days. The purpose of this bridge was to connect Spiti valley to Pin valley. Thereby, it would also join the bridle path leading out of Spiti valley to Kullu and the one leading out of Pin valley to the erstwhile Rampur-Bushahr state. The two routes were preferred by the British authorities and Western hunters intent on visiting Spiti. The bridge would also improve access for local traders. There is also a local apocryphal story that the name ‘Attargu’ itself comes from “udhar go, udhar go!” (go there, go there!) which the British engineers and supervisors frequently shouted at their Indian workers while building the bridge.

For the Indian government, the annexation of Tibet by China in 1951 rapidly changed Spiti’s status into that of a sensitive borderland. Motorable roads were consequently built there on a war-footing over the 1950s-60s. By the 1970s, Spiti had road connectivity to Manali as well as Shimla. The old Attargu bridge continued to be in use until the late 1980s. In 1988, the then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh inaugurated a new motorable bailey bridge right next to the old suspension bridge. This new bridge would allow the extension of the road network into Pin valley.

In the past three decades, the old bridge has fast become a ruin, a forgotten lone relic of the British Raj in the cold desert.

— The writer is doing his doctoral research on road connectivity in Spiti