Construction work on bridges irks Kalam residents

PESHAWAR: The Kalam Hotel Association and residents of Kalam valley have expressed shock over removal of steel bridges on Bahrain-Kalam road to start construction work on these bridges at a time when the summer season was at its peak and Eidul Azha was approaching.

They appealed to Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to stop the removal of the steel bridges on Bahrain-Kalam road, fearing that it would inflict losses on the hotels and others associated with the hospitality sector at a time when Eidul Azha was just round the corner.

They said the contractor had decided to start work on the bridges when summer season was at its peak and Eidul Azha was approaching.

They said hundreds of thousands of tourists from across the country visited Kalam and other scenic places during the summer.

The Kalam Hotel Association (KHA) and residents said that they had been demanding the government to construct incomplete bridges on Bahrain-Kalam road but it never happened.

They said traffic would remain jammed and tourists would suffer at the places where bridges were not built.

“The government never heard us and didn’t take our complaints seriously, but now when the season is at its peak and the tourists are coming to Kalam, the contractor began removing the steel bridges. It would disconnect Kalam valley from rest of the country,” said Nasrullah Khan, a resident of Kalam valley.

He said the news of removing steel bridges had shocked the local people in Kalam and other scenic valleys, criticizing the National Highways Authorities (NHA) for selecting a bad time to build the bridges.

“Tourism is the only source of income for our people who have invested millions of rupees in the hotel industry. They are anxiously waiting for the summer season and the two Eid festivals throughout the year, but someone is intentionally creating problems for us,” Nasrullah Khan said.

He said it was not the right time to remove steel bridges and start construction work, saying it would be bad news for the tourists as well.

The Bahrain-Kalam road was built a few years but almost half of the bridges remained incomplete due to issues between former communications minister Murad Saeed and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Engineer Amir Muqam.

Amir Muqam also owns a construction firm that got contracts for building the bridges on Bahrain-Kalam road, which Murad Saeed had allegedly cancelled.

The litigations lingered on and the ultimate sufferers were the people of Kalam and other valleys and obviously the tourists coming from various parts of the country.