After Daily Trust report, work commences on collapsed bridge in Kwali village

Following a report by Daily Trust on a bridge wrecked by flooding, work has again resumed on it. It links Dafa-Tungan and Sarki-Gwomani communities.

Aso Chronicle, had in October 2020, reported that the collapse of the bridge has caused untold hardship to residents of 16 villages in the area, which include Dafa, Gurmi, Azzaya, Tungan-Sarki, Gwomani, Damakusa, Tungan-Galadima, Tofa,  Bwaji,  Gulo, Dogon-Ruwa, Gbarji  and other neigbouring communities.

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Speaking to our reporter at the site on Saturday, the site engineer, Alhaji Nasiru Illoh, said the reconstruction of the bridge was being carried out by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA)’s Agricultural and Rural Development Secretariat after a report from some chiefs of the affected communities.

He said the reconstruction work started in December last year and is expected to be completed by end of February to enable farmers and residents of the affected areas have access road to convey their goods to the market in Kwali.

He said the secretariat embarked on the reconstruction of the bridge having understood that residents of the communities are peasant farmers who require good access road to convey their crops to the market.

A farmer, Abdullahi Usman, while speaking with our reporter, noted that the reconstruction of the bridge by the FCT administration has brought great relief to the people of the area.

“In fact people have suffered a lot here, especially during the rainy season when the bridge collapsed. People had to will carry their load on their heads and wade through the river to the other side,” he said.

He commended the  FCT administration for its quick intervention, and appealed to the contractor to redouble effort to complete the work before the rainy season sets in.

A pickup van driver, Gimba Gwatana,  also said the construction of the bridge has brought relief to him and other motorists, adding that “though the work is still ongoing, but from the look of things, the hardship that motorists experienced in last year’s rainy season will not happen this year by the grace of God,” he said.

The chief of Gwomani, Alhaji Adamu Saba, also lauded the efforts of the FCT minister of state, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, for her quick intervention through the Agricultural secretariat to reconstruct the collapsed bridge.