100-year-old bridge collapses in Himachal

A 100-year-old bridge has collapsed in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, officials said here Sunday.

Following the collapse, the road link between tourist resort Chail and Kandaghat has been snapped.

The bailey bridge, believed to be more than a century old, collapsed Saturday after a truck loaded with apples tried to cross it despite a warning that the bridge could not take such a heavy load, Public Works Department principal secretary Narinder Chauhan said.

He said a temporary path has been constructed on the Kandaghat-Chail road near Sadhupul on the Ashwani rivulet as an alternate route for light vehicles. However, heavy vehicles like buses and trucks cannot ply on this path.

Deputy Commissioner Madan Chauhan said traffic bound for Chail via Kandaghat should take Salogra-Ashwani rivulet via Gowda link road and could also consider the Shimla-Kufri route to reach Chail.

Chauhan said repair work will start soon.

The hill resort Chail is known for deodar groves. It became a summer resort of the erstwhile Maharaja of Patiala. In 1891, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh built his palace, Chail Palace, there.

The palace was popularised when Aamir Khan's blockbuster film "3 Idiots" was shot there.