Army constructs bridge in Kashmir damaged by floods

The army started construction of a major connecting bridge in Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday which was damaged during the devastating floods in the valley in September.

Both the Indian and Pakistani sides of the disputed Himalayan region saw extensive flooding with Srinagar particularly hard hit. Hundreds of people were killed and tens of thousands were left homeless.

During the floods, several key bridges were damaged and some were washed away leaving hundreds of villages disconnected from several areas. Due to this, state government faced difficulties in providing relief material to the flood affected victims.

Meanwhile, commanding officer, engineer regiment, Poonch, Major Krishna Prasad, said the Sher-e-Kashmir bridge was damaged and work was on to construct a new one.

"During floods in Kashmir, the Sher-e-Kashmir bridge was damaged because of which this area was cut-off from rest of the state. People who wanted to come from Jammu to this area were facing a lot of problem. We got a request from the state government to construct a bridge here," said Prasad.

The approach road to the bridge was also damaged.

"The Sher-e-Kashmir bridge connects the district headquarters with other areas. It also connects the National Highway 144 to the district headquarters. In the recent floods its approach road was damaged," said chief engineer, Public Works Department, Jammu Region, Abdul Hammed Sheikh.

Residents hailed the army and said it will facilitate movement of relief material and other goods.

"Since last two months, we have been cut-off from Poonch. Today they have helped us by making a motorable bridge. Some steps were placed here as a temporary arrangement for crossing the river. We are happy that with the help of the army and local government, vehicles are able to move across the river," said a resident, Chowdhury Mohammad Akbar.

More than 75,000 people were in partly submerged homes in Srinagar, where roads had transformed into stagnant canals strewn with wreckage, trash and dead animals.