CHITRAL: A suspension bridge has been inaugurated in Khairabad area near the Drosh town here to benefit over 450 households of different villages.

A joint venture of Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) and Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP), the bridge has been executed under the Programme for Poverty Reduction (PPR) of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) Pakistan.

The village elders said more than 450 households of Khairabad, Kol, Camp and Wardhap Payeen areas would directly benefit from the facility as they were hitherto deprived of crucial socioeconomic opportunities due to inaccessibility.

Ms Emanuela Benini, Director AICS Pakistan, inaugurated the bridge by unveiling the plaque and expressed her immense pleasure over naming of it as ‘Pakistan-Italy Friendship Bridge’.

She said AICS aspired to lay the foundation of a strong developmental network in Pakistan and this bridge was the first step towards that end. She hoped that the bridge would enable the local community to have better access to health and educational facilities just like other communities in the district.

Shams Badruddin of PPAF said such projects would allow the local community to have easy access to health and educational facilities in the district.

Lower Chitral deputy commissioner Hassan Abid lauded the Italian government, PPAF and SRSP for supporting the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in the development of the district.

He said communication infrastructure played critical role in development of an area. The newly-built bridge would transform the lives of local residents, he added.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2021