River rage: Ayub Bridge washed away, 700,000 people stranded

Many unable to earn livelihood due to restricted mobility.

SWAT:

Flash floods have left about 700,000 people stranded in Matta and Kabal tehsil after a portion of the Ayub Bridge fell victim to Swat River’s raging waters.

Ayub Bridge is the only link that connects Mingora with Kabal and Matta. Residents living across the river now face multiple issues along with restricted mobility.



“Majority of the people do business in Mingora and travel there on a daily basis. If the link is not restored immediately, we will face countless problems,” said Younas Khan, a resident of Kabal who owns a shop in Mingora.

Many government employees live on both sides of the river and the bridge connects them with their livelihood. “I was going to work at the airport in Saidu Sharif, but came back because of the disconnected bridge,” said an employee of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) who works at Saidu Sharif airport.

People of Kabal and Matta have appealed to the government to take emergency steps to restore the link by repairing the bridge or building a new one.

The original bridge was destroyed and washed away in the July 2010 floods, following which a temporary make-shift bridge was installed. Even after three years, a new permanent bridge has not been constructed.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2013.