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By M S Nazki
The story of a bridge that probably is the strongest in Kashmir valley and it stands out because it can still sustain the heavy weight of the wheels that cross it!!
-‘Champora is a Village in Ramhal Block in Kupwara District of Jammu and Kashmir starts from a famous bridge known as Rang Kadal constructed during British Reign!’! This is a a one line story I got!
-‘The reason that this line caught my attention was that I have crossed this bridge in the old but the strongest and most powerful four wheeler, Jonga along with my Dad when he was commanding his unit in Kupwara!’… My adventures in Kashmir were to start!’
-‘From St Edmunds Shillong to CMS. Tyndale Biscoe has always remained etched in my mind! It was late in the evening when we crossed this bridge!’
-‘Anyway as I usually do I will start this one also with a bit of history of the bridge that came up first in the world!’
-‘They built the Caravan Bridge, the world’s oldest reliably dated bridge. It’s a stone arch span over the Meles River in Izmir, Turkey. According to Guinness World Records, it dates from 850 B.C., making it almost 3,000 years old.’
-‘ Basically a bridge is structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually something that is otherwise difficult or impossible to cross.’
-‘There are many different designs of bridges, each serving a particular purpose and applicable to different situations. Designs of bridges vary depending on factors such as the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed and anchored, and the material used to make it, and the funds available to build it. And the one we are going to talk about is absolutely different! And it still stands tall and strong and was built during the British era!’
-‘It is called Rang Kadal!’
-‘The earliest bridges were likely made with fallen trees and stepping stones. The Neolithic people built boardwalk bridges across marshland. The Arkadiko Bridge (dating from the 13th century BC, in the Peloponnese) is one of the oldest arch bridges still in existence and use.’
-‘The next question to which everyone seeks answers is who made the first bridge in the world? The answer: The earliest known arch bridges were built by the Greeks, and include the Arkadiko Bridge. The Solkan Bridge over the Soca river at Solkan in Slovenia is the second-largest stone bridge in the world and the longest railroad stone bridge.’
-‘ Now coming to Kashmir valley, the first bridge across the Jhelum was Aali Kadal, built by Sultan Ali Shah in 1415 AD. Six more bridges were built by later rulers, and by the nineteenth century Srinagar came to be known as the ‘City of the Seven Bridges.’
-‘In any case the Vale of Kashmir is also a land of villages with several waterways but today we will talk about the bridge in Kupwara!’
-‘The crackling sounds of an old and tired bridge can best be understood by an old and tired person! Those who have carried the burden of life for so long are the ones who understand each other best!’ This is the one while walking on two legs or traveling on four wheels the golden oldies have heard no such sounds as yet but as they travel or walk across the ones created and constructed by PWD (R&B) Jammu and Kashmir they are scared and they have reasons to do so’!
-‘If you want to cross a bridge that is likely to collapse, you will be disregarding not only your life but also the life of the bridge!I do not have to give examples because several of a particular department in UT Jammu and Kashmir I have mentioned above!’
The news report that I got was abut and it was from interiors and it read something like this;
-This bridge was made in the british reign and is still able to free transport movement of heavy and light motor vehicles!
-Since I had three pictures with me, I knew that this must be a great line and it was because the pictures were taking me into the past civilizations!
-A bit of history I have given above!
-The next line was even more interesting and it read:
-‘This was just one bridge of 1896 in district Kupwara that connected Ramhal-Rajwar and Handwara villages with district headquarters in Kupwara.’
-‘Here I understood what he wanted to say’!
-‘Everyone wants to save time so that he can make some more money and one bridge is simply not enough!’ I do not think that I’m wrong here and neither was Karl Benz when cars came into vogue!’ I mean the automobile industry!
-‘Now those cars are decorative props in houses of artefact lovers, one is in our house too! Grandpa’s collection of course!’
-‘Then I further went on to read the report given and it stated: Till date this bridge is all fine and safe for transport movement.
-‘The location of the bridge is the Vilgam area of Handwara Sub District!
-By now i knew without reading as to what the next line would be though I had not read it!
-This bridge is a message for present constructors and engineers. Bilal Ah, a local resident, said that in the last 20 years 80 to100 bridges were constructed by the R & B Department and local contractors. That was great but..
– After5 to 7 years the bridges are unsafe for public movement and transport also….! The question is why and for what reason is a common man raising this question!’ The administration has to give answers!
Well the question is genuine! We are in a progressive mode and the people of Kupwara too are in the same! So why not go with the people and the administration should be doing precisely that! But are they really?
Finally I will conclude by saying that sometimes, people who pass a beautiful bridge add an extra beauty to it, but neither the bridge nor the people who pass over it know about it, only the photographer who captured this! The one which I’m going to tell about has many stories to tell! But remember when you cross a bridge, never forget this: You crossed because the bridge allowed it!’
