Commuting: Bridging distances, easing hardships

Life becomes easy for the locals as RCC Bridge is completed on stern warning from the court.

GILGIT:

The RCC Bridge in Konodas has finally been constructed after five years. Chief Minister Medhi Shah inaugurated the bridge on Thursday.

The project of the bridge had been sanctioned during the government of General Pervez Musharraf, whose era saw considerable development work in the region including road networks, bridges and educational institutions. However, the contractor of the bridge left the project without completing it after Musharraf’s government was ousted in the general elections of 2008.

The old Bridge - adjacent to the new RCC Bridge - had been constructed in late 1890.It dilapidated overtime as traffic increased along with rise in population. Following growing complaints, the chief judge of the Gilgit-Baltistan’s Supreme Appellate Court, Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, took suo moto action in 2010 and asked Public Works Department [PWD] to complete the project immediately or be prepared to face the law.

The suo moto worked its spell as PWD resumed work completing the project, making life easy for thousands of residents of Kondoas, Nomal and other adjoining regions.

The locals heaved a sigh of relief and thanked the Appelatte court for taking action on the pending project.On the inauguration ceremmony, as the chief minister, accompanied by  speaker Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly and other officials, cut the ribbon, people praised Justice Nawaz Abbasi, who played the major role in bringing the project to its completion.

“We are so happy that more than half of our distance to Gilgit city and other connecting areas will be minimized,” said Tashfain Rafiq, an employee who lives in Konodas. He said due to a lot of rush at the bridge, they had to stand in a queue twice a day, while going to office in the morning and on their way home in the afternoon.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2011.