Footpath on bridge unwalkable

HYDERABAD:

Thieves have stolen the iron sheets fitted over pipelines passing over the bridge that spans across the railway lines of Hyderabad Junction.

During the reconstruction of the Khawaja Ghareeb Nawaz Bridge known as Nya Pul or the New Bridge, the footpaths were raised on both sides to accommodate water and sewerage pipelines. The engineers used iron plates to cover the pipes so as to allow people to walk with ease and help technicians detect and fix any fault in the pipes.

However, over the period of times, one after another these sheets were stolen.

Now pedestrians have to cross the bridge walking over the pipelines due to which many people, particularly, elderly, women and children lose balance and fall. The other option is to walk along the traffic bearing honking of irate drivers yelling at pedestrians to use the footpath, which, literally speaking, they cannot set foot on.

Locals of the area told The Express Tribune that thousands of small and big vehicles pass through this bridge, which connects densely populated areas with the city. Residents of adjacent areas usually use the footpaths on both sides of this bridge to travel on foot.

The Hyderabad Junction a major railway station is under the bridge, therefore, it was not possible to pass the utility lines under the ground and the entire pipelines and cables cross over the bridge.

Hyderabad Water and Sewerage Corporation laid its 16-inch diameter water supply line and 20-inch diameter drainage line over the bridge.

But the iron sheets to be laid first began to mysteriously disappear slowly and now the iron sheets have completely disappeared. Subsequently, with the footpath made unusable, people were forced to walk on the road to cross the bridge, leaving them vulnerable to getting it by vehicles.