They walk nearly 2 km from their villages to the riverbank before being ferried across the swollen river by their parents using the trolley, said Sunder Singh Bathyal, a social worker from the Nachni area.

“The trolley must be pulled manually, and no Public Works Department (PWD) staff are posted at the site to operate it,” Bathyal said, adding that two people were killed and six others were injured in trolley-related accidents over the past eight years, raising concerns about safety during the monsoon.

Villagers said they erect a temporary wooden bridge across the river during winter, when the water level recedes, but are forced to rely on the trolley during the monsoon.

The trolley was installed by the Provincial Division of the PWD in Bageshwar.

Deewan Singh Karki, a resident of Bhakuna village in Bageshwar district, said his two children study at GIC Nachni and commute across the river every day.

“With the onset of the monsoon and rising water levels, we accompany them to the riverbank to help them board and get off the trolley, as they are terrified of travelling alone,” he said.

Mohan Singh of Kheti village in Bageshwar, whose daughter attends Gyandeep Public School in Nachni, Pithoragarh, said using the trolley during the monsoon has become an annual ordeal for families.

“We risk our children’s safety every year. The government should prioritise the construction of a bridge, which stood here before it was washed away in the 2018 floods,” he said.

PWD officials said a detailed project report was prepared for a 110-metre-span bridge at the site.

“The proposal is awaiting sanction. Once approved, construction of the bridge will be taken up on priority,” Krishna Pipliya, an engineer with the PWD’s Provincial Division in Bageshwar, said.