MANSEHRA: The residents have complained about the dilapidated condition of a suspension bridge over the Indus River in Sarbago Hassanzai area of Torghar district and said the bridge posed a serious threat to people’s lives.

They demanded the early installation of a concrete bridge.

“This bridge connects several villages to Judbah and the rest of the district, but since it is in a highly dilapidated condition, the lives of its users are at risk,” chairman of the Bimbal village council Gul Mohammad Khan told reporters.

The suspension bridge in Sarbago Hassanzai was inaugurated in 2018 by the then MPA, Zareen Gul Khan.

Mr Khan said the steel planks and supporting iron cables had been broken, making the bridge dangerous for use.

He said that the bridge was the only pedestrian route for the large population of Kundar Hassanzai, Bimbal Hassanzai, Balyani Akazai and Sarbago Hassanzai to cross the Indus River. “We have raised this issue with the tehsil municipal administration and other departments, requesting temporary repairs and the construction of a concrete bridge, but no action has been taken,” he said.

Mr Khan said when the riversides of the River Indus dried up, the suspension bridge was the only connection source between the villages and the rest of the district, as ferry services were halted.

“We face great difficulty transporting our patients, especially women, to intra-district health facilities and to the rest of the Hazara division,” he said.

Another resident, Rabnawaz, warned that the community would protest if the government did not build a concrete bridge.

“We have no alternative to cross the Indus River, and if a fatal incident occurs, the relevant departments will be held responsible,” he said.

COMMUNITY FORESTS: Chairman of the Torghar district development advisory committee Laiq Mohammad Khan on Monday assured the local tribesmen that the government won’t transfer community forests to the wildlife department.

“I will take up this issue with the forests minister and convince him not to hand over the community’s forests to the Wildlife Department,” he told a grand jirga attended by elders from five main tribes.

The jirga, held at Mr Khan’s residence in Oghi, was largely attended by elders from the Hassanzai, Akazai, Nusratkhel, Basikhel, and Madakhel tribes.

The attendees condemned the government’s decision to transfer Torghar forests to the wildlife department.

“I will raise this issue with the forest minister soon,” he said.

Mr Khan, who was elected from Torghar’s only provincial assembly constituency, said if community forests were handed over to the wildlife department, tribesmen would not even be allowed to cut firewood.

“I am optimistic that the government will understand the gravity of the situation and act in the best interest of the people,” he said.

Earlier this month, a jirga decided to challenge the government’s decision in the Peshawar High Court’s Abbottabad Circuit Bench.

The unrest among the tribesmen began after the provincial secretary of forests and environment visited Torghar and announced the transfer of local forests to the Wildlife Department.

In 2011, the government granted this former tribal area of Mansehra the status of a settled district through a presidential order.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2024