Osiak bridge makes accessibility to villages easier
The construction of a reinforced cement concrete (RCC) bridge over Chitral River at Osiak village in Drosh has been completed by the communication and Works department (C&W).
The bridge has opened up scores of villages in the Osiak valley up to Jinjiret Koh along the Afghan border.
Before this, there was an old wooden bridge which had become very dangerous. Thousands of people in dozens of villages live across the river along the Afghan border. The old bridge was such a poor shape that neither a vehicle could cross it nor the locals could pass it carrying their household goods on their shoulders.
The construction of the RCC has resolved the communication issues of the people.
According to C&W department’s Executive Engineer Tariq Murtaza, the new bridge is 92 meters long, seven meters wide and 13 meters high.
The bridge has been built at a cost of Rs102 million. Tender was floated for the project in 2016 and work order was issued in 2019.
Due to different reasons, the work progressed at a snail’s pace, promoting many public protests.
Qari Jamal Nasir, Aftab Ahmad Khan, Mohammad Ehtisham, Additional Chief Warden Civil Defence and Maulana Khan Shirin said the construction of the bridge would facilitate thousands of people living across the river up to the Jinjiret Koh.
Moreover, tourism in the area will also get a boost as people can now easily travel the centuries-old historical places and forts in the valley of Jinjjiret Koh.