SIALKOT-The Sialkot International Airport management has pointed out various flaws in the project of 28-feet wide and one kilometer long bridge being construction over River Chenab near Shehbazpur.
It said that the purposes of this bridge would not be achieved due to these flaws, demanding increase in the height of the bridge.
Sialkot International Airport Limited (SIAL) Chairman Malik Ashraf and a team of the technical experts visited the site. The technical experts found several flaws in the design of the bridge. They said that the direction of the water in River Chenab was being diverted to Sialkot from Gujrat district's rural parts by establishing protective dykes from village Deengwaal-Mahinwal to village Khaas Gujrat. They said that there was a gap of about two and half kilometres between the two villages.
The said that the gap of protective dyke between the Sialkot and Gujrat districts would flood the airport, dozens of surrounding villages and Sialkot city during the flood seasons, they said.
The experts said that the height of the road was very low, which would be eroded by the floodwater in River Chenab.
The SIAL chairman also brought the situation into the notice of the chief engineer of the Punjab Irrigation Department, seeking early relief from him in the shape of removal of the flaws from the bridge's design.
Ashraf urged Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif to look into the matter in the larger interest of the local people directing the officials concerned to remove the flaws from the design.
National Highway Authority (NHA), National Logistic Cell (NLC) and the Irrigation Departments are jointly supervising the project.
The project would be completed with a total cost of Rs4 billion till March 2018, out of which the Punjab government has released Rs2 billion as first tranche.
After the completion of the project, the people from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AHK) and neighbouring Gujrat areas would have easy access to Sialkot International Airport and Sialkot-Lahore Motorway.