RISHIKESH
The original 1929 suspension bridge deck has been closed for structural safety since 2019 — you can still walk the newer parallel pedestrian bridge and photograph the old one, but don't expect to cross the historic structure itself.
The original hanging rope bridge here, built during colonial times, was washed away by the great flood of October 1924. The current iron suspension bridge, funded in part by Rai Bahadur Shewpershad Tulshan and built by the U.P. Public Works Department, opened to traffic on 11 April 1930 with a stipulation that no toll would ever be charged to cross it. It connects Tapovan in Tehri Garhwal to Jonk in Pauri Garhwal, and legend holds that Lakshman, brother of Lord Rama, crossed the Ganges here on a jute rope bridge at this spot. The bridge was closed to vehicular and then all traffic starting in 2019-2020 after engineers deemed it structurally unsafe.
