THE OLD RAMBAN BRIDGE ON BANIHAAL CART ROAD

                                                                                     

RAMBAN BRIDGE MAY 1948... 

NEHRU  ON WAY TO SRINAGAR  CROSSING RAMBAN BRIDGE ON FOOT ..

When Maharaja Gulab Singh took over the reins of the J&K state, he decided to develop Udhampur , Ramban and Banihal route to travel to Kashmir. This road came to be known as Banihal  Cart Road or B.C.Road. At Ramban, a  small wooden bridge was built over river Chenab for movement of men and material.Later ,  a suspension bridge was built  over river Chenab . For many many years , this suspension bridge was the only link to Kashmir valley  for movement of men ,material and motor vehicles. This suspension bridge  opened  new windows of culture  for the people .The bridge entered Duggar folklore. A popular folk song “Dhaarein Dhuraan peyaan, Kandiyaa peya Barsaala ( fog has settled over hills while  Monsoon rains are washing the Kandi areas )" makes mention of this bridge as under:-

" Ramban pul baneyaa baneya baaj garaaria
Teri meri Preet lagi aey Lagi aey baaj rawaariya".

  Passengers had to get down and cross the bridge on foot. Thereafter, the  vehicle would slowly cross the bridge . The  passengers then boarded the vehicle across the bridge.This  suspension bridge was completed during the rule of Maharaja Partap Singh who sat in the first vehicle that passed over this bridge on 2nd May 1921 .This was annual Darbaar move from Jammu to Srinagar.
The RCC bridge that is in use currently was built much later in late sixties of the last century.

And in 2004 , the old suspension bridge was declared unsafe for vehicular traffic.

A  motorable bridge was built over river Jhelum at Sangam near Bijbihara town by Maharaja Partap Singh in 1910. Before that , passengers would generally use Doongas or river link to travel  from Khannabal to  Srinagâr.

Presently, in Reasi district of Jammu division , a new bridge is being built  over river Chenab for train link to the  Kashmir valley. This  bridge will be 359 meters above the Chenab river bed and will also be 30 meters higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The bridge will be about 1.3 metres long .Once completed ,  the bridge will be  an engineering marvel. The bridge is likely to be completed by December 2021.

( Avtar Mota ) .

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