Truck drivers in India provide an essential service to villagers in the Himalayas when they transport food, water, and medicine to remote regions. But the crucial work comes at a deadly cost.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:01Killer road deep in the Himalayas is one of the most dangerous in the world.
00:08One reckless turn could send drivers hurtling down nearly 11,000 feet.
00:14If you are afraid of death,
00:17you should sit on your truck.
00:22Let's go, let's go, let's go.
00:27Because there is no time at any time at any time.
00:33Still, every summer, Ankur Rawat makes several trips,
00:38delivering basic supplies to remote villages along this perilous route.
00:45It connects the rest of India to the isolated region of Pangae Valley,
00:50which is cut off for nearly six months of the year
00:53because of heavy snow.
00:55This is the lifeline.
00:57If there is no food here,
00:59how can we survive?
01:01But sometimes trucks break down along the way,
01:04leaving drivers stranded for days.
01:07So what does it take to navigate these heavy-duty trucks
01:11on this deadly path?
01:14We rode along with Ankur through the mountains
01:16for three days to find out.
01:20Ankur lives in the village of Palhoon
01:24with his wife Sabitha and their children.
01:28He never really knows what the weather will be,
01:31so he packs plenty of blankets.
01:37They sit down for a family dinner
01:41before Ankur sets off.
01:43He first picks up the truck from a private parking lot
01:53that rents them out.
01:56This one has a power steering and a 5600cc engine,
02:00ideal for driving through the mountains.
02:02Ankur will make a few pit stops on this 107-mile journey.
02:04Ankur will make a few pit stops on this 107-mile journey.
02:06First, he'll travel about 10 miles from his home to a warehouse in Chamba
02:10to pick up food rations.
02:11Then, he'll pass through several small tables
02:12to pick up food rations.
02:13Ankur will make a few pit stops on this 107-mile journey.
02:16First, he'll travel about 10 miles from his home to a warehouse in Chamba to pick up food rations.
02:22Then, he'll pass through several small towns and go through Satchpas, the highest point on Killa Road,
02:29before reaching his destination, the district of Pangi Valley.
02:35Today, Ankur is the first place in Chamba.
02:37Ankur will make a few pit stops on this 107-mile journey.
02:40Ankur will make a few pit stops on this 107-mile journey.
02:43First, he'll travel about 10 miles from his home to a warehouse in Chamba to pick up food rations.
02:48Then, he'll pass through several small towns and go through Satchpas,
02:51Today, Ankur is loading 100-pound bags of wheat provided by the government to sustain India's most isolated regions.
03:01His truck can carry up to 12 tons.
03:04But any more than that, and it could topple over.
03:10He always stops at this local temple along the way.
03:14The truck can hold up to 250 liters of diesel.
03:32But there are hardly any gas stations along the route.
03:36The terrain starts off pretty smooth.
03:39But as the truck goes uphill, it gets rough.
03:42And his speed drops below 10 miles per hour.
03:45At this point, the road is only 10 feet wide.
03:46And there's barely room for two cars to drive next to each other.
03:48So, when in 90 minutes, Ankur is on the road.
03:49The train starts off pretty smooth.
03:54But as the truck goes uphill, it gets rough.
03:57And his speed drops below 10 miles per hour.
04:02So, when another vehicle approaches, Ankur needs to carefully reverse, sometimes by hundreds of yards.
04:21And the truck goes uphill for two hours, three hours.
04:23And the truck goes uphill.
04:24And the truck goes uphill.
04:25And the truck goes uphill.
04:26And the truck goes uphill.
04:27And the truck goes uphill.
04:30Luckily, he's travelling with truck conductor Mohamed Nisar Mughal,
04:35who jumps out and guides Ankur around blind spots and dangerous turns.
04:40We have to see that the car won't be touched on the top.
04:43Go, go, go, go.
04:45There are no guardrails to prevent them from veering off.
04:56In July 2022, a jeep rolled into a gorge, killing five people.
05:10And in 2023, seven people died after their vehicle was hit by a landslide on this route.
05:17It happens sometimes.
05:18We have to die.
05:19We have to die.
05:20People die.
05:21People die.
05:22So, I wonder if this is today or tomorrow.
05:26But after years of experience as a trucker, Ankur isn't easily intimidated.
05:32We are on the road.
05:33We are on the road.
05:34We are on the road.
05:35We are on the road.
05:36We are on the road.
05:37We are on the road.
05:38We are on the road.
05:39We are on the road.
05:41All the traditional rules of the road don't really apply.
05:45Truck drivers communicate with hand signals, which becomes important during moments of congestion
05:51like this.
05:53We have done such aなた.
05:54Some of us do this.
05:55Some of us do this.
05:56Some of us do this.
05:57Some of us do this.
05:58Some of us do this.
05:59We're on the road.
06:00They also use pressure horns, which are illegal in India.
06:06India. But Anku says they need them for safety reasons.
06:16Anku doesn't wear a seatbelt either, even though under Indian law he's required to. He says for
06:23this type of driving, they can do more harm than good, as they restrict the driver from leaning
06:29over. But stats on semi-truck accidents show that drivers are more likely to survive if
06:38they buckle up. In this state alone, trucks and buses accounted for 12 percent of all fatal
06:44crashes in 2022. Landslides and snowfall have also weakened this road structure, forming
06:52ditches and piles of debris. So the government hires contractors to keep preparing it.
07:02Killar Road started off as a footpath with narrow trails carved by shepherds and traders who were
07:08trying to reach the remote Pangae Valley. Legend has it that residents of Chamba fled to the
07:15hidden region to escape Mughal invaders. Others believe that in the 16th century, the king
07:22of Chamba banished criminals to this isolated region. These days, Killar Road is used mainly
07:30by tourists, bikers seeking an adrenaline rush, truckers and local residents. After about eight
07:39to nine hours of driving, the men pull over. They make a fire to start cooking with groceries
07:51they brought from home. But even during dinner, they stay vigilant, in case they are confronted
07:57by wild animals or thieves.
07:59at night, the car is loaded. The car is loaded at night. But we are so excited that when the car
08:08makes a lot of noise, the car opens up a little bit.
08:13There are no hotels for miles, so they sleep in the truck's cabin.
08:17The next day, they start driving at the crack of dawn. Killar Road gets even more treacherous and spectacular as trucks pass through waterfalls.
08:24The next day, they start driving at the crack of dawn. The next day, they start driving at the crack of dawn. Killar Road gets even more treacherous and spectacular as trucks pass through waterfalls and incredibly tight spaces.
08:49Vehicles along this route often run into mechanical problems. This truck, carrying grains to Pangi Valley, broke down after the gearbox stopped working.
09:04The mechanic says the nearest store for car parts is about 180 miles away.
09:10I am here. I am here. We will go to the pedal. We will go to the pedal. There will be a signal on the mobile. There will be a phone.
09:21We will give a message to the people. Then we will send them away.
09:25The whole process will take four days, and the truck will just stay here until then.
09:31Anku and his team carry on with their journey.
09:42At around midday, they stop at a local dhaba for a quick bite.
09:49These cafes cater to truck drivers. The people who run them, like Lakshman Sharma, understand how hard it is to drive around here.
10:03There is no road. Where is the road from Baganah?
10:06The people will run the pedal. The people will get to the pedal and the car will get to the other.
10:13But even these cafes close down once it starts snowing around October.
10:18We will send them all the way.
10:21We will send them all the way.
10:24We will send them all the way.
10:26We will send them all the way.
10:28We will send them all the way.
10:29We will send them all the way.
10:31While Anku's job is an essential service, he only makes about 10,000 rupees a month.
10:36That's about 4 US dollars a day.
10:39Enough to buy a few pounds of rice and lentils in India.
10:44We will send them all the way.
10:46We will send them all the way.
10:49He could make about 25,000 rupees a month as a personal driver in Delhi or Bombay.
10:54But his heart belongs here in the Himalayas.
10:57And he wants the whole world to know how beautiful these mountains are.
11:06So he vlogs on the side.
11:08He has about 50,000 followers and counting on YouTube.
11:12Perhaps, he has a great goal.
11:13After seeing this jaguar, you will hear that Luca, he will not go.
11:19I don't want to do blogging, but I have tried to do blogging.
11:29I don't want to go to blogging, but I want to go to the blogging.
11:33I want to show people how much risk it is on the rocks.
11:39But the most treacherous part of this route is getting through Satch Pass.
11:44At nearly 14,500 feet, Satch Pass is one of the highest navigable places in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
11:53Drivers are advised not to stop at the top for more than five minutes because there's so little oxygen in the air.
12:00The road through here is even more narrow, barely more than eight feet wide.
12:07So, Anku needs to be extremely mindful when navigating the steep slope.
12:14Satch Pass, the car is not fast.
12:17The car is not fast.
12:20We don't have to stop at the track.
12:23We don't have to stop at the track.
12:25If we stop at the track, we won't stop at the track.
12:27The car will not stop at the track.
12:29It takes him about three to four hours to go through this nine-mile stretch.
12:47Search for horses
12:54Cushayin!
12:56Otherwise, there is a ride on him.
12:57land, land, land, land, land, land.
13:09Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!
13:23After they're through, Ankur recaps the journey for his followers.
13:27Oh, brother, what the road was. One was a tire out of the road.
13:30And there's a car on there. We didn't get any struggle to get in our journey.
13:35Kilar is among 106 villages in Pangi Valley, which has a total population of just 18,000 people.
13:49Almost 200 trucks head there every summer, carrying food, medicine, and other basic supplies.
13:58They're stored at this warehouse for the winter, and residents buy them at a subsidized rate set by the government.
14:05If the truck doesn't reach out, then the lifeline will be disturbed.
14:11As soon as they're done unloading, Anku and his colleagues hit the road.
14:19Along the way, they pass by a nomadic community called the Gujjars.
14:26For Anku, catching up with them over a cup of tea has become a ritual.
14:32Sonia, Sonia, Sonia.
14:36Even though driving through these mountains is a part of Anku's identity,
14:44the job has worn him down.
14:46When I was a little kid, my father told me that I had to take an aeroplane.
14:53So I told him that I need a truck.
14:57I was asleep before.
14:59Now I've become tired.
15:00But he still yearns for the day he can truly enjoy the breath-taking nature around him.
15:10So I've been driving a truck for seven years.
15:13I don't get the chance to see my family.
15:16I'll enjoy it a little while.
15:17Let's go.
15:18Let's go.
15:19Let's go.