Osiak bridge construction begins at last

CHITRAL: After a number of protests by local people against delays, work on the construction of an RCC bridge to link Osiak and other villages with Drosh and other areas has started at last.

The suspension bridge built over river Chitral near Drosh in 1982 was damaged by floods in 2015.

In April 2019, the work order for the RCC bridge was issued but the project faced another delay.

According to the work order available with ChitralToday, an amount of Rs101.332 million would be spent on the 106-metre-long bridge.

A visit to the site by this correspondent showed that a group of labourers engaged in digging on one side of the river.

Local people told ChitralToday correspondent that the provincial government has now released funds for the project.

However, they demanded that the government should supervise the quality and pace of work on the Osiak bridge construction to complete it on time in good quality.

They said the project has been awarded to the same contractor who was constructing a similar bridge in front of Green Lasht for Oveer in Upper Chitral. One of the girders of that bridge fell into the river soon after they were laid over the river last year.

GH Farooqui