Road link to Chitral village restored after four years

E-Paper | March 01, 2026

CHITRAL: The remote Sarghuz village near Mastuj town has been reconnected with rest of the district after four years as a jeepable suspension bridge destroyed by boulders has been rehabilitated.

The Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) rebuilt the bridge at a cost of Rs5 million under its program for economic advancement and community empowerment (Peace) project.

SRSP chief executive officer Shahzada Masoodul Mulk inaugurated the bridge the other day. Villagers in large numbers had gathered at the site and were cheered up at being reconnected with rest of the district after a long time.

The local elders said that the villagers, including women and children, had staged a hunger strike to press the government to rehabilitate the bridge, but to no avail. They lauded the SRSP for coming to their rescue and reconstructing the bridge.

They said that the people had to walk for two hours to reach Mastuj town to catch a vehicle for other parts of the district.

They said that the bridge also provided a short-cut to the Laspur valley and onwards to Gilgit-Baltistan through Shandur Pass.

Nagina Jan, a 10th grader, said that the girl students were the worst affected as they couldn’t attend to school regularly after the destruction of the suspension bridge.

She said that they had to walk across the damaged bridge putting their lives in peril while going to school. “The reconstruction of the bridge has filled us with joy,” said Nagina.

On the occasion, Shahzada Mulk urged the villagers to strengthen local organisations in solving their problems and securing trust of the donor organisations.

He asked the local community organisations to chalk out a strategy for maintenance of the bridge which is of primary importance for the village and the adjoining valleys of Laspur.

SRSP district programme manager Tariq Ahmed said that work on the rehabilitation of the bridge got completed in eight months.

Meanwhile, another suspension bridge was inaugurated at Sweer in lower Chitral which was also constructed by SRSP at a cost of Rs8.6 million.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2014

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lawangeen@msn.com

Nov 06, 2014 04:01pm

I see a European Union logo on this bridge - funded by the EU. The EU-funded PEACE project is doing wonders in Malakand Division. This is just one very small intervention. Look at the MHPs they are installing under PEACE. The story about the potable drinking water supply scheme with such a little input and providing access of 150,000 people to clean drinking water and many many more. The journalist shoul have highlighted the contribution to this Programme.

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sterry

Nov 07, 2014 12:52am

PTI performed poorly in KPK which is why people have stopped listening to Imran Khan and his politics of division. Thank goodness Pakistan has friends in the EU who are committed to helping the nation. The same EU who announced that despite minor rigging the elections were largely fair and free. The PTI refuses to listen to the EU who observed elections but they are not shy to take money from the EU. They are behaving like hypocrites.

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Oats

Nov 11, 2014 09:12pm

PTI is only good for parties and dharnas! They don't want Pak to progress. They are trying to damage investment from China and other countries because they are obsessed with power for IK.

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