PESHAWAR: Delay in the reconstruction of a bridge on the Bara River has turned out to be a major headache for thousands of motorists and commuters, who are often stuck up in traffic jams due to the diversion of traffic from there to the busy Indus Highway.

The bridge on Canal Road in Bahadur Kalae area was washed away by floods around five months ago but the provincial government has yet to rebuild it to malce the travel on the Indus Highway easy.

The Canal Road was an alternative artery to the Indus Highway, which is very busy for being used mostly by trailers, oil tankers and trucks transporting goods from Karachi to Afghanistan.

The motorists bound for Hayatabad, Bacha Khan International Airport, University of Peshawar, Tehkal and cantonment areas also use the Canal Road.

However, since the bridge on Bara Riverwas destroyed, the traffic has been diverted to the Indus Highway stressing out its users.

`Literally I do not want to go to my village after seeing massive traffic and road blockade for hours,` Javed Afridi, a resident of Zangali area, told Dawn.

He said the use of Indus Highway was out of question in view of several kilometers long queue of trafnc and road blockade for hours.

Afridi, who used to travel on the Canal Road on daily basis, said it took half an hour to reach University Town from Zangali area prior to the washing away of the bridge.

`Now-a-days, I reach my home in four to five hours,` he said.

He demanded of the provincial government to immediately install pre-fabricated bridge as the construction of bridge would take a lot of time.

`The Indus Highway us very busy as the people ofsouthern districts and Fata and those related to Afghan transit have been using it,` he said.

Raham Dil Nawaz, member of Peshawar district council from Bazidkhel ward, said he and dozens of other councillors had warned the provincial government to immediately construct the bridge otherwise a massive protest would be staged on Kohat Road.

He said like millions of people, his voters were also affected by the worst traf-fic jam on the Indus Highway.

`Members of the district council have given one month ultimatum to the government to construct the bridge in the best interest of the people.

The councillor said he had informed district nazim Mohammad Asim Khan about the severity of the issue because it could create a law and order situation.

He said district councillors had planned to meet the chief minister to demand early reconstruction of the bridge.

When contacted, Peshawar district nazim Mohammad Asim Khan said the government had planned to construct two bridges on the Bara River.

`The construction of one bridge will be completed by the end of March,` he said.

He said worl( couldn`t be initiated on the bridge due to high flow of water in the Bara River and adjacent canal.

The nazim said the option of installing pre-fabricated bridge on the Bara River was also under consideration and that the Peshawar corps commander would be consulted on the matter.

A senior official in the irrigation department said Rs250 million had been approved for the reconstruction of two bridges on the Bara River.

`The construction of bridges will begin in two months as their tendering is in process,` he said.