QALAT (SW): As many as 11 bridges on the Kabul-Kandahar highway have been blown away by the militants causing a heavy financial loss besides hindering transportation of people and goods on this key highway.
According to the public works department in the Zabul province, the Taliban militants have destroyed these bridges in the province during the past eighteen months. More than 50 small brides have also been demolished in this period. Mohammad Haleem Alakozay, director public works in Zabul told Salam Watandar that the provincial government has managed to reconstruct only 3 main bridges while the rest remain in appalling state.
Thousands of passengers and hundreds of goods carrying vehicles pass through this deteriorated road on daily basis. Convoys of the government forces are often targeted in Zabul with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) placed alongside this road.
Transporters using this road on daily basis told Salam Watandar that they never feel safe while commuting on this highway due to the threat posed by broken bridges, the Taliban militants and other bandits.
Meanwhile, Mirwais Noori, the police chief in Zabul province, said in this regard that these damaged bridges are also causing security concerns besides traffic accidents. He stressed that efforts to restore these bridges should be ensured at the earliest.
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