KOHAT: Former Jamaat-i-Islami MPA Dr Iqbal Din Fana has demanded an impartial inquiry into the collapse of a portion of key under-construction Tarli Bridge here.

Four heavy beams of the bridge located in Shakardarra, the home constituency of the former lawmaker, had crumbled recently. The bridge provides a shortcut between the southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Punjab.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Mr Fana said first contractor of the project was blacklisted over corruption, and another contract was awarded at a revised cost of Rs330 million, up from Rs250 million. He said work on the bridge started in 2016 and was to be completed in 18 months, but it was lying incomplete till date.

The JI former lawmaker said laboratory tests of the material used in the fallen and intact beams should be conducted, and if it was found that substandard material was used then the bridge should be reconstructed.

He also demanded that the money so far spent on the bridge should be recovered from the consultant as quality of material used in the bridge’s construction was not checked from time to time.

He said further work on the bridge should be suspended till completion of the inquiry. He said the relevant authorities’ argument that the beams had fallen due to strong winds was absurd.

MUHARRAM PROCESSIONS: The 7th Muharram processions were taken out from all the three Imambargahs in the city, which culminated at their respective destinations peacefully under tight security on Monday.

Processions were taken out from Rizvia Imambargah, Bannu Bazaar, which joined the others from Qaumi and Syed Habib Imambargahs at Zargran Bazaar Chowk.

The speakers highlighted the sacrifices of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) and his family.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2021