UPPER DIR: Three people were injured when a suspension jeepable bridge broke down in Sahibabad area here the other day as a vehicle was passing through it.

The bridge is located a few metres away from the houses of MNA Sahibzada Sibghatullah and MPA Sahibzada Sanaullah.

Residents said that the bridge was in a bad condition for years and they had been demanding expediting work on the alternative bridge, but no one paid attention.

Over 6,000 people of 14 villages, including Kotkey, Kategram, Gamdat, Shagai, Malaloai and others, use this bridge to go to other parts of the country. The local people said that the bridge would jolt even when a small vehicle would pass through it.

Construction of a concrete bridge has been approved at the spot some three year ago and work was also started, but so far only its pillars could be built. The residents said that construction work on the new bridge had been stopped for quite some time.

They demanded of the elected representatives from the area and the government to complete the new bridge as soon as possible.

When contacted, MPA Sanaullah said that Rs70 million had been approved for the new bridge and a major part of the project was completed. He said that another Rs10 million had been approved for the project in the current ADP and the work would be resumed soon.

The injured were taken to the tehsil headquarters hospital in Wari.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2019