September 05, 2020
The Hub river bridge’s condition poses a serious threat to the public after it faced further damage in the recent torrential rains that also laid bare Karachi’s infrastructural woes.
Three pillars of the bridge — built near Hub Chowki in Balochistan — suffered high damage due to the rains.
A citizen recently shared a video on social media about the dilapidated state of the pillars and demanded that the government rebuild the walls and do a technical assessment of the bridge.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to debunk the video, Sindh government Spokesperson Murtaza Wahab said that the bridge in question is "stable".
"This is NHA’s bridge. GM South NHA visited the bridge after the video was made viral & has confirmed that the structure of the bridge is stable. Unfortunately the video was made from an angle which does not reflect the true picture. NED University people are is in touch with NHA," he wrote.
This bridge is crucial for the transportation of goods and other heavy traffic flow to and from Karachi and Hub.
Addressing the subject, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said that National Highway Authority has been informed of the bridge's condition.
Shahwani said that the NHA is responsible for the bridge's construction and it's thus equally responsible for its repair.
The district administration has issued orders that limited traffic be allowed on the bridge for now.
In the current monsoon season, Karachi witnessed record-high rains that inundated several of its areas and wreaked havoc on the unruly infrastructure of the metropolis.