GUJRAT: The long sought-after construction of a bridge over Jhelum river connecting Malakwal tehsil of Mandi Bahauddin to Pind Dadan Khan tehsil of Jhelum district and Bhera area of Sargodha is nowhere near a launch despite the scheme’s inclusion in the annual development program (ADP) of the Punjab government.

The public concern arose after Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif did not mention the bridge in his speech during a visit to Malakwal on Thursday. The people of these areas had been demanding construction of a bridge for almost five decades and successive governments had either announced to allocate funds or laid foundation stones mostly just ahead of coming elections.

Akhtar Umar Hayat Lalika, a local Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader, criticised the Punjab government for once again delaying the construction despite repeated announcements by local PML-N lawmakers. He said that only the PTI would execute the project once it came to power.

However MNA Nasir Iqbal Bosal said the chief minister had laid the foundation stone of the project during his public meeting at Malakwal last week and work would start soon at the site.

A source told Dawn that PML-N lawmakers from Pind Dadan Khan and Bhera had opposed the site plan proposed by MNA Bosal near Malakwal city and had been suggesting Chak Nizam site near the railway’s Victoria Bridge.

These differences within party ranks and opposition by other lawmakers to the site plan as well as procedural hitches, the source added, might cause further delay in execution of the project.

Mandi Bahauddin Deputy Commissioner Hafiz Shaukat Ali told Dawn on the phone that the project was very much active as it was part of the provincial ADP in the current fiscal year. He said construction work would start once the tender process was completed.

The British had constructed the Victoria Bridge over River Jhelum near Chak Nizam 85 years ago and started a train service from Malakwal to Khushab, Pind Dadan Khan, Khewra and Gharibwal and the railway track has been the sole link between Malakwal and Pind Dadan Khan.

The demand for construction of another bridge first surfaced during Ayub Khan’s rule, Gen Ziaul Haq had got allocated Rs50 million, former premier Benazir Bhutto pledged to complete the project in 1996, Gen Pervez Musharraf had laid the foundation stone and approved Rs1 billion for it, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had also laid a foundation stone in Malakwal in October 2007.

Muhamamd Akif, a resident of Malakwal, said political parties had only been exploiting the demand for construction of a bridge over the river for elections.

He said that in case of non-availability of train, people first reached Victoria Bridge through motorcycle-rickshaws, vans and motorcycles and then walked across the river on a pedestrian track along the railway line. After crossing the bridge, they hired local transport to reach Haranpur to further travel to Pind Dadan Khan.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2018