RAHIM YAR KHAN: The 50-foot wide breach in Minchan spur appearing after erosion in the right guide wall of embankment at the Benazir Bhuto Shaheed Bridge (BBS bridge) at Chachran Sharif on Friday last was caused by natural phenomena of the river Indus changing its course.

This was claimed by the National Highway Authority (NHA) South Punjab Director (Maintenance) Zafar Chandio while talking to Dawn on Sunday.

He said the design of the two guide walls, constructed after the completion of bridge, was approved by the Nandipur Irrigation Research Centre (NIRC), Gujranwala, and these structures were constructed under the supervision of the centre’s experts.

Mr Chandio said stones were confined after the compaction of mud and its apron was 32 meter in the start, after the completion of the embankment.

He said sometimes stones start to move after tilting because of the water pressure when river changes its course and its flow directly hits the embankment.

He wondered that despite 44-foot deep skewering, the breach developed in the guide wall of embankment in just 45 minutes.

He said that he would write to the NIRC experts, asking them to visit the bridge to ascertain the reason of erosion.

However, he assured that the guide wall would be restored in a couple of days.

The BBS bridge connects the small town of Chachran Shairf in Rahim Yar Khan district with the Kot Mithan town in Rajanpur district. It is the only main bridge for the public use to cross the river Indus between Panjnand Headworks and Gudu Barrage near Kashmore town of Sindh.

The BBS was built on the longstanding demand of the people of RYK and Rajanpur districts.

A resident of Khanpur Qammar Iqbal Jatoi told Dawn that in 1958 when Sardar Abdul Rab Nishtar visited Kot Mithan, he announced a boat bridge on the river Indus to connect the town with Chachran Sharif, which was completed in a year.

Later, many politicians belonging to different parties promised construction of a regular bridge on the river, but in vain. Finally, in 2010, the then prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani of the Pakistan People’s Party laid the foundation stone of the bridge, but its construction could not be started.

In 2011, Sarikistan Qaoumi Movement (SQM), along with the workers of other political parties staged a huge sit-in at Zahirpir Chowk on the National Highway demanding construction of the bridge, Jatoi said.

Later, in 2012 the construction of the BBS bridge started and it got completed in 2016,Jatoi added.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2023