Delay in construction of bridge: Heavy flow of water disrupts traffic in Kaghan valley

MANSEHRA: The Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road on Saturday remained blocked for many hours due to heavy flow of water as the National Highway Authority (NHA) couldn’t rebuild a bridge, which was washed away in Battal area of Kaghan valley last year.

“Most cars and even heavy vehicles were stuck while crossing the watery patch of the main artery as water flow had risen alarmingly due to the snow melting from the nearby mountain,” Mohammad Adnan, a tourist from Gujrat, told reporters.

A central bridge on Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road in the Battal area of Kaghan valley had been washed away by last year’s flash floods.

And although the NHA had reopened the important artery to traffic after clearing the glaciers and snow last week, it couldn’t reconstruct the important bridge as yet.

Because of the heavy flow of water, the traffic remained suspended for many hours resulting in tourists being stranded at that point for many hours.

Adnan said that the local authorities were receiving multiple taxes from visitors from across the country and even abroad but no effective measures were being taken to address such issues.

Another tourist from Islamabad, Roidad Khan, said that his car got stuck in heavy water and his family was shifted from the vehicle to a nearby safer place.

“No doubt Kaghan valley is a heaven on earth but the deteriorated road condition and broken pieces deter visitors from even contemplating to arrange such recreational tours again,” Khan said.

The chairman of the hoteliers’ association in Kaghan valley, Hassan Deen, strongly denounced the delay in the reconstruction of the bridge at that main artery, which according to him, would affect the tourism activities that resumed after six months of closure.