Barot-Multhan Road Reopened, Bringing Relief to Chhota Bhangal Farmers

The reopening of the Barot-Multhan road after a month-long closure due to heavy rainfall has brought much-needed relief to residents of Chhota Bhangal panchayat and surrounding villages.

Ajay Kumar Sood, Executive Engineer of the PWD’s Baijnath Division, confirmed that the road is now open for light vehicles. “Connectivity has been restored, and traffic is being allowed,” he said.

Farmers in the remote, high-altitude region near Garola village had been severely affected by the prolonged road closure. With no means to transport their produce, large quantities of cabbage, cauliflower, radish, pumpkin, and other vegetables either spoiled in the fields or remained unsold. Farmers said they suffered unprecedented financial losses during the peak harvesting season.

Typically, vegetables from Chhota Bhangal are sent to markets in Baijnath, Palampur, Jogindernagar, and nearby towns, earning small-scale farmers a fair profit. This year, the disruption severed their only link to buyers, leaving the harvest unsold for several weeks.

With the road now reopened, farmers Tilak Raj, Ram Lal, Krishna Chand, Mangat Ram, and Ram Krishna expressed hope that they can finally sell their remaining produce. “Though we have already incurred significant losses, the reopening of the road gives us a ray of hope,” they said.

Local residents and farmers noted that they had never witnessed such a long closure in recent years. “The road has never been blocked for this long before. This month-long disruption forced much of our vegetables to rot in the fields,” they told local media.

Meanwhile, residents and farmers have urged the state government and the Departments of Agriculture and Horticulture to assess the crop losses caused by the heavy rains and provide immediate compensation to affected families.