Mbale City Residents Call For The Repair Of Key Bridge Washed Away By Floods
Residents of Busamaga Upper Cell in Industrial Division, Mbale City have appealed to the government to rehabilitate the bridges that were swept away by flash floods in July 2022
The residents have specifically cited the Nashibiso Bridge which connects the upper part of Mbale City to the central business district, saying that their businesses and other activities have been paralyzed due to limited access to the City.
According to the residents, the lack of a bridge has not only curtailed movement but also endangers the lives of learners heading to school and elderly people as they try to cross from Upper to Lower Busamaga Cell for services.
In July 2022, the flash floods that hit Mbale city did not only claim lives and displaced people but also swept bridges and destroyed roads in the city. The floods also destroyed a number of assets at the Mbale Industrial Park.
A number of bridges that were destroyed, including Nashibiso Bridge, have not been fixed to date, apart from the bridge which connects Mbale City to Bufumbo.
In Busamaga Upper Cell, the residents told COU Family TV that their movements have been crippled since the existing makeshift Bridge is inadequate. In one incident, some children heading to school survived drowning in the floods here.
The outcry of the residents attracted the attention of Karim Masaba, the MP for Industrial City Division, who is also the Chairperson of the Mbale City Roads Committee who visited the affected area.
The legislator revealed that the city roads committee that he chairs will soon announce temporary measures to ease the movement of residents as they await the Ministry of Works and the Uganda National Roads Authority to rehabilitate the bridge.
According to Cassim Wamatabu Namugali, the Mbale City Mayor, many bridges and roads in the city are in a sorry state but he hopes that the recently established roads committee will address the challenge.
According to the Hon. Masaba, the 1.2 billion shillings given to the Mbale City roads sector are inadequate and cannot facilitate the rehabilitation of roads and bridges in the city given the terrible state of many of the roads.
