KARACHI: Sham Sundar, general manager at the National Highway Authority, Balochistan, has said that the chairman of the NHA has ordered work on the proposal for a new bridge on the Hub River on N-25 highway connecting Sindh and Balochistan.
He said this at a meeting with Lasbela Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) president Ismail Suttar. Sham Sunder also informed the LCCI president that the NHA had been continuously monitoring the condition of the existing bridge.
The bridge is still safe for use by traffic though it has completed its designed life. The bridge was built in 1962. Ismail Suttar apprised the NHA official of concerns of the industrial community of Lasbela district who used this bridge on a daily basis.
After recent heavy rains and spill from the Hub dam, the outer additional support of the bridge piles had been exposed, and the news about it in the media had created a genuine panic among the users of this bridge. Ismail further elaborated on the importance of this bridge, which connected the port city of Karachi with the largest province of the country up to the border with Iran.
The Hub industrial area being the largest organized industrial cluster in the province of Balochistan was generating around 75% of the revenue for the province. Any obstacle or hindrance in reaching the workplaces and logistics to and from the factories would cause heavy losses to production resulting in a heavy loss to the revenue generated by these factories through their business activities besides rendering thousands of workers unemployed.
While responding to the concerns of LCCI president, Sham Sundar said that the NHA was working on the repair of the piles of the bridge, and it had invited proposals from contractors to start repair work within a few days. He said that excavations close to the bridge were dangerous for the bridge structure.
This should strictly be prohibited. As per law, no excavation can be carried out within 500 meters on either side of the bridge. Law-enforcement agencies must take strict notice of any violation of this law to protect the bridge and keep it safe for the commuters.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020