The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) collaborated with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) and Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) and constructed a suspension bridge which was inaugurated in district Chitral on Sunday.
The bridge is constructed with the aim of solving the problem of rural isolation that has been affecting the community especially during the time of heavy rainfall.
According to an official statement,
“Residents were deprived of crucial socio-economic opportunities because of adverse conditions and limited mobility. The bridge has been constructed in partnership with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) and the Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) under the Programme for Poverty Reduction (PPR) by an Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) Pakistan.”
Khairabad is comprised of five sub-villages (KhaiabadKhas, ThokJal, Dhap, Junali, Camp) while there are three more connected villages of Kol, Wardhap, and WardhapPayeen. More than 450 households of Khairabad, Kol, Camp, WardhapPayeen will directly benefit from the development.
Director AICS, Pakistan Emanuela Benini was pleased that the infrastructure has been given the name ‘Pak-Italy Friendship Bridge’. She said,
“The AICS aspires to lay the stone for a strong developmental network in Pakistan and this bridge is the first step towards it. The bridge will enable the local community to have better access to health and educational facilities just like other communities in the district.”
Shams Badruddin, the group head infrastructure for PPAF, said that such developmental projects would allow the local community to have easier ac- cess to health and educational facilities in Chitral that can lead to better socio-economic conditions in the region.
