Residents warn of protest if bridge not repaired

MANSEHRA: Residents have threatened to block the main road to traffic for an indefinite period if the Judbah-Kubalgrom suspension bridge, which links Torghar with Malakand and rest of Hazara division, was not reconstructed within a week.

“We have met the local lawmakers and district administration multiple times seeking repair of this suspension bridge but to no avail,” Zahid Khan told reporters on Tuesday. He said the suspension bridge, which was built on the Indus River, was damaged during a windstorm last month, but the district administration could not repair it.

“Our relatives working in other parts of the country could not join their families on Eidul Azha,” he said. Another local, Rabnawaz Khan, said the bridge linked Torghar with Malakand and Hazara divisions.

“We want the early repair of the bridge. We ask the government to build it,” said Rabnawaz. He said if the district administration didn’t repair it within a week the people of Judbah and its adjoining villages would block Judbah-Thakot road to traffic for an indefinite period.

SHOS RESHUFFLED: The Mansehra police on Tuesday ordered transfers and postings of station-house-offices across the district.

“This major reshuffle in the policing system is being made to provide better security to people and provide an opportunity to competent inspectors and sub-inspectors to play their due role in bringing crime to an end,” Zaibullah Khan, the district police officer, told reporters.