SWABI: Collapse of a couple of bridges on major roads here during the recent flash floods has caused immense problems for the commuters, particularly the business community.

Talking to Dawn on Monday, the locals said after the collapse of the bridges the traffic had been diverted to causeways and alternative routes, which could not bear the bulk of traffic, causing hours long congestions on roads.

They said despite repeated demands to the authorities no step had been taken to start rebuilding the collapsed bridges on a war footing. “The bridges got collapsed in the recent floods, forcing the people to use long, insecure and dirt tracks to reach their destinations,” regretted Sher Ali Khan, ANP Maneri union council general secretary.

One of the collapsed bridges is the Yar Hussain Bridge, which connects Yar Hussain with Chota Lahor, Jehangira and Peshawar.

Memhoodul Hassan, a local resident, said Yar Hussain was the main tobacco producing area in the district, but due to collapse of the bridge was cut off from other parts of the district due to collapse of the main bridge, the tobacco purchasing companies and local people were facing difficulty in reaching their destinations.

An official of a multinational company said collapse of the bridge had caused severe problems in transportation of the firm’s goods.

Similarly, industrialists at Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate are also facing problems due to collapse of a bridge on the Swabi-Topi road. As a result, traffic has been diverted to Kotha causeway, which fails to bear the pressure of vehicular traffic. And, on Monday, traffic remained jammed for hours when a heavy container stuck in the causeway. Traders said the government officials pledged to start immediate reconstruction of the bridges, but to no avail.

SHOT DEAD: Gunmen shot dead a man and injured his brother in the main bazaar in the district headquarters on Monday, said police.

The incident occurred a few yards from the city police station. Police said three accused allegedly opened fire on Omir Khan and his brother Izhar Khan. They said Omir was killed on the spot while Izhar was seriously injured. He was taken to Bacha Khan Hospital Complex, Shahmansoor.

Izhar told police he along with his brother came to the main bazaar for buying some essential commodities. As they were talking with a local businessman, suddenly shots were fired, targeting them, he said, and identified the accused as Khalid Ibrar, his brother Shahid Ibrar and their relative, Ijaz Khan.

When the attackers attempted to escape after the incident, one of them, Ibrar, was arrested by the traffic police officials who were present in the bazaar at that time. The cause of the incident was stated to be a money dispute.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2016