From the metro bridge: Falling concrete kills pillion rider in Pindi

Deceased hailed from AJK and worked at a petrol station

ISLAMABAD: In an unfortunate incident, a 25-year-old lost his life after a piece of concrete from the newly-constructed bridge for the metro bus fell on him in Rawalpindi.

Nisar Ahmed died on Sunday after concrete fell on him while he was travelling with a friend on a motorcycle near Mareer Chowk. His body was taken to DHQ Hospital.

Passersby said the helmet saved the driver’s life while Ahmed, riding pillion, was not so lucky. They added that both men fell from the two-wheeler as they were hit.



“The incident has nothing to do with the quality and strength of the bridge,” said Hanif Abbasi, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader and chairman of the Implementation Sub-Committee of the Metro Bus Project (MBP). Expressing grief over the incident, Abbasi said neither any pillar nor any part of the bridge has fallen and “we still challenge all to check its quality and strength.”

“Someone’s negligence has caused a loss of life and we will reach to the bottom of this,” he vowed. Abbasi said it was easy to level allegations but over 140,000 commuters daily utilise the bus service and their safety was a top priority. He said the Punjab chief minister has taken notice of the incident, ordered an inquiry and would announce compensation for the bereaved family.

“Faulty planning, embezzlement of funds and completion of the project in a hurry just for political gains have caused the tragic incident,” alleged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Asif Mehmood. “This is the first of many future incidents and because of the small cracks in the bridge at different places, I rarely travel under it.”

Referring to the MBP, Mehmood said projects worth billion of rupees need greater attention, supervision and time instead of just completing them for political scoring.

Ahmed, who hailed from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, worked at a petrol station near Pir Wadhai.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2015.