78 years after Independence, villages near Nahan still deprived of road access; New mother carried home on cot
Nahan, Aug 12
Seventy-eight years after India’s independence, several villages in Gram Panchayat Salani Katola of Himachal Pradesh’s Nahan assembly constituency remain cut off from basic road and transport facilities, forcing residents to rely on unsafe means for medical emergencies.
In a shocking incident from Mohaliya Jamun Wala Jhameria village — located just 10 km from district headquarters Nahan — a woman named Gayatri, wife of Puneet Kumar, had to be carried home on a cot along with her newborn after giving birth. The treacherous approach path, damaged by monsoon rains, made it impossible to reach a hospital for postnatal care.
A video of the ordeal has gone viral on social media, sparking widespread outrage and drawing attention to the government’s long-standing failure to provide essential rural infrastructure.
Residents say the village is accessible only by foot, requiring a 3 km walk to the nearest road. The absence of a bridge and an all-weather paved road forces patients to traverse a steep, slippery track — a risk that worsens during the rainy season.
“We have raised this issue many times, but our pleas fall on deaf ears,” said one villager. Another local resident, Rakesh Chauhan, described the situation as a “grim reality” that continues to endanger lives, particularly of women and children, and exposes the gap between official promises and on-ground conditions.
Despite repeated demands for road connectivity and a bridge, villagers allege no concrete steps have been taken by authorities. The incident has reignited the debate on rural neglect in Himachal Pradesh, where poor infrastructure in remote areas continues to put lives at risk even decades after independence.
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