UPPER DIR: The residents of Sro Manzai area of Brawal tehsil have demanded of the government to construct a permanent bridge over the river to facilitate them.

They said that they putting their lives in danger to cross the river through a narrow makeshift bridge. They said that thousands of residents of the area use the dangerous bridge to go to Brawal and other areas of the district.

The residents said that they had demanded time and again of the elected representatives and other authorities to construct a bridge over the river but to no avail. They said they were putting their lives in danger to cross the river.

The local people said that children, women, patients and elderly people faced great difficulty to pass through the narrow makeshift bridge. “It poses a threat to the lives of people as any accident can happen anytime,” they added.

The residents of the area said the water level in the river increased in the rainy seasons and during snowfall, multiplying their miseries. They said that the makeshift bridge was washed away several times. The area is situated in the constituency of MPA Inayatullah Khan, the former provincial minister for local government.

Hakimullah, a local resident, said that a fund of Rs18 million was construction of bridge some two years ago. He said that the project was tendered and inaugurated by the then provincial minister Inayatullah Khan.

However after the passing of two years, the bridge was not constructed, he added.

He said that the villagers had to take a long route to use another bridge for crossing the river.

The residents of the area demanded of the government to construct a bridge over the river to end their miseries and protect the precious lives. They threatened to launch protest and block the main Dir-Peshawar Road if their demand was not accepted.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2019