GUJRAT: The approach road linking a bridge between Pind Dadan Khan and Jhelum was washed away in flash flood caused by the storm water channel near Malikpur area on Tuesday.

The road link of Pind Daden Khan with Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat and GT Road towards Lahore was disconnected due to the incident as traffic went out of gear along the road.

Locals say the road and bridge was constructed around a year ago which had not been made up to the quality whereas the [alleged negligence] of the respective authorities in the provincial highways department and the district administration had also caused damage to the road.

Adding they said the increasing flow of water into the storm water channel due to the rains in upper areas had not been taken into account by the authorities who should have done some precautionary measures to avoid such a loss.

There was a long queue of vehicles on both sides of the bridge, stranding the passengers who had to commute to other cities particularly the district headquarters - Jhelum.

Later on the authorities moved the machinery to the site to fill the washed away portion ahead of the bridge with mud so that the road could be opened for traffic on a temporary basis.

However, the local sources say the traffic could not be resumed on the route till the evening.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2019