Uttarakhand bride treks 18 km in heavy lehenga, appeals to CM Dhami for village road connectivity

A bride in Chakrata district of Uttarakhand was compelled to walk 18 kilometers through rough mountainous terrain wearing a heavy lehenga as a means of accessing her groom's residence, making her wedding day a call for basic infrastructure. While traveling with her wedding party from her Bulhar village to Undava, which is near Dehradun, she had no choice but to complete the final leg of her journey on foot owing to the lack of any road accessible via motor vehicles.

Viral call for action by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami

In her bid to reach her in-laws’ place in time to partake in the sacred ceremony of griha pravesh, she had to move along rugged mountainous terrains.

Direct video message: This video message was recorded by the accompanying villagers while walking through this difficult route.

The demand: She appealed to the government of the state to construct a road in order to facilitate future brides and others from having to go through such a situation.

Nearly eight decades of inaccessibility in Uttarakhand: Despite its location not very far from the state capital region, Undava has not had any road access for nearly eight decades since Independence.

Systemic infrastructure failure in remote hill villages

The incident underscores broader connectivity failures across Uttarakhand’s upper reaches, where missing roads routinely jeopardize access to healthcare and essential services.

Residents in villages across Chakrata, including neighbouring areas like Handi Kandi, frequently carry elderly citizens, pregnant women, and medical patients on makeshift stretchers across miles of rough terrain to reach the nearest hospital.

While state development programs emphasise high-altitude highways for tourism, remote villages continue to call for basic rural connectivity to ensure fundamental mobility.