INDIA – Bordang Bridge Project

This Project is one of the simplest and yet most satisfying that we have undertaken.

In a remote corner of India, in the foothills of the Himalayas lies the tiny village of Bordang, on the bank of a small river. On the other side of the river lies the village of Turyok, and the lives of both communities are linked.

Access to each of the villages, and thus to medical suppliers, food and education is via a bamboo bridge over the river but each year this is washed away in the monsoon season. Also, walking across it is scary for both children and the elderly. But the alternative is a walk of several miles to cross the river elsewhere.

Our funding will allow the villagers to construct a permanent steel bridge across the river which can be used all year round by the young people, but also for the vulnerable and elderly, for whom the walk around is too challenging.. A construction team of Bordang villagers will construct the bridge under the direction of one of the villagers who is an experienced construction worker and will return to his village to oversee the Project. Construction will take place in January 2021 when the river level is low. In the short term the Project will provide construction employment and in the long term this simple Project will permanently link the two communities.

As the villagers do not have email addresses or mobile phones, Sanjeev Gurung, one of Explore’s Tour Leaders in India, will visit the village regularly throughout the construction process, in order to update us on the villagers’ progress.

This is a simple Project but this permanent linking of the two communities will change the lives of the villagers.

Our thanks go to Explore, who introduced us to this Project.