SHANGLA: The residents of Kanba Bunirwal union council here on Sunday demanded of the government to reconstruct the wooden suspension bridge over Aloch River, as people had to cross the river by foot to reach Aloch bazaar and hospitals.

They said that this bridge linked several villages of Bunirwal union council with rest of district in Aloch area of Puran tehsil, but for the last one and a half years the bridge could not be repaired.

Nizamuddin, a teacher, said that the bridge had broken down about 16 months ago and since then people were compelled to cross the river to reach areas in Aloch where he was doing job in a school.

He said that the bridge was located near the tehsil headquarters, but no one paid attention to repair it.

Bahri Bostan, another local, said that the bridge was built by Pakistan Army after 2010 flash floods. He said that in 2017 several of its planks broke down and now it was not fit for use.

He said that whenever it rained they faced difficulties and could not cross the river to reach Aloch Bazaar and hospitals because of increased water flow.

Adnan Khan, a resident, claimed that they had approached the local MPA for reconstruction of the bridge about six months ago, but work could not be started as yet.

ARMS SEIZED: Police here on Sunday claimed to have recovered arms from a shop at Bely Baba Bazaar and arrested a suspect.

A statement issued by DPO office said that during a raid on a shop at Bely Baba Bazaar the police party seized six pistols, seven rifles and 40 cartridges. It said that they had started interrogation of the dealer Ibadur Rehman who was selling the illegal weapons at his shop.

Meanwhile, the main roads of Shangla district, which were blocked by heavy snowfall, were cleared to light traffic on Saturday evening.

Deputy commissioner Imran Hussain told this scribe by phone that all major arteries, including Bisham-Swat, Alpuri-Puran and Karora-Chakesar, had been cleared of snow.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2020