CHITRAL: A truck loaded with potatoes fell into the Lot Koh River after a cross beam of a steel bridge collapsed here on Tuesday, suspending vehicular traffic to and from Garam Chashma and Gobor valleys.

Gul Akbar, an eyewitness of the accident, told Dawn that the truck nosedived into the river when the bridge, located near Mogh village, broke. However, three persons aboard the truck, including the driver and conductor, miraculously remained unhurt.

He said the vehicular traffic to and from the two valleys was suspended after the incident at a time when harvest and transportation of the bumper crop of potato was peaking.

Mr Akbar said more than 100 trucks loaded with potato crossed the bridge to transport the produce to other parts of the country.

Mohammad Hussain, a former member of the district council from Garam Chashma, demanded of the government to restore the bridge on an emergency basis to save the farmers from suffering losses as potato started spoiling in fields if it was not transported to the market.

Lower Chitral deputy commissioner Hasan Abid said he had approached the National Highway Authority’s general manager (maintenance) to get the bridge restored for vehicular traffic within two days.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2021