GUJRAT: The Punjab government has released Rs270 million as an initial installment for the construction of a new bridge over River Jhelum at Chak Nizam locality connecting Malakwal tehsil of Mandi Bahauddin district with Pind Dadan Khan tehsil of Jhelum district.

This was stated by PML-N MNA Nasir Iqbal Bosal while addressing a gathering in Head Faqirian town on Friday where Hamid Javed Ranjha, a close aide of former federal minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal, announced joining the Bosal group.

The MNA said the provincial government had already approved a fund of Rs1.54 billion for the bridge and the scheme had been included in the annual development budget of 2017-18. Now the initial grant had been released to the district administration of Mandi Bahauddin.

He said work on the project would start within two months following the completion of procedural matters, and announced that he would inaugurate the project once it was completed.

He pledged to complete construction of the bridge prior to the next general elections as a large number of uplift projects like establishment of educational institutions, health centres, carpeted roads and the provision of natural gas had already been completed on his recommendations in the areas falling under NA-109 during the last four years.

The bridge had been a longstanding demand of the locals from both Malakwal and Pind Dadan Khan tehsils for the past more than five decades as currently the Victoria Railway Bridge has been the only source of commuting for the locals and the train has only two timings in 24 hours to ply on that route whereas the locals would use a pedestrian portion along the Victoria bridge to cross the river.

robberies: Police have yet to trace the gangs involved in recent spate of robberies in the city.

A goldsmith and his wife were robbed of cash and gold ornaments worth Rs400,000 by six dacoits wearing helmets right in front of their house in Gharibpura locality in broad daylight on Thursday.

Reports said the robbers riding on three motorbikes intercepted Hafiz Ayub and his wife when they were about to enter their house.

The robbers who were wearing helmets in an apparent bid to conceal their identity aimed a gun at Ayub and snatched cash of some Rs30,000 and swiftly cut gold bangles of his wife with a cutter.

A delegation of traders led by Markazi Anjuman Tajran President Javed Butt called on Gujrat District Police Officer Sohail Zafar Chatha and apprised him of the worsening law and order situation in the city, particularly the number of house robberies during the last few weeks.

The DPO directed the city circle police to take immediate measures to stop such incidents.

Earlier, on Saturday last, two families of bank managers residing in a building in Alnabi Colony were robbed of Rs3.5 million in cash and valuables whereas the house of an expatriate in Shadman Colony and that of a trader on Railway Road were looted by unidentified suspects. The shop of a foreign currency exchange dealer was deprived of Rs 5.7 million cash.

A senior police official told Dawn that head of a notorious inter-district dacoits gang might be behind the recent spate.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2017