Govt asked to rebuild bridge in Mansehra

MANSEHRA: The main bridge at Darband-Haripur road, which had collapsed three months ago because of flash floods, couldn’t be rebuilt so far, causing inconvenience to motorists and pedestrians. “We have taken up this issue with the relevant lawmakers and Communication and Works Department but to no avail,” Attique Sulemani, a resident, told reporters. The main artery not only links Mansehra with Haripur and Punjab via Lassan Nawab but is also an alternative route to the Torghar district, which still lacks the road infrastructure even after getting status of a settled district from a tribal belt in 2011. The bridge had collapsed near Ambi Pain area in Mid-June. “People of Darband, Oghi, Lassan Nawab, Torghar and adjoining localities don’t use Karakoram Highway to travel to Haripur and destinations beyond it to save time and fuel,” said Sulemani. “This is a shortest possible route from Tanawal and Agror to reach Haripur and beyond it but its poor condition irks commuters and motorists,” he added. He said as winter was fast approaching and if the bridge was not rebuilt and destroyed patches not repaired, the route might be blocked to all sorts of traffic permanently because of the heavy landslide.