Doodh Patti

Every year, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) puts out a very beautiful calendar on bridges all over the world. However there has never been any bridge from Pakistan on this calendar. There is not without reason. In the last six decades, Pakistan has not built a bridge of any aesthetic or architectural value.

Most of the new major bridges are of the economic variety built for the roads out of pre-cast concrete boxes or beams, or of plate girders that any one hardly notices driving over. Also since rivers are not used for navigation like they are in industrialized countries, the bridge spans are not very large or high. Therefore there is no need of high super structures like one sees in the case of Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco or other structures like that all over the world.

Other than rail and road bridges, Pakistan also has numerous dams and barrages over major rivers. These are river blockage structures and gated spillways to control water flow and are often used for road traffic as well.

Rail traffic, however, requires heavier bridges than does the road traffic. Again unfortunately Pakistan Railway has hardly built any new rail lines since the British period. The railway system in Pakistan is almost one and half century old. The system is antiquated and so are the bridges. However at the time when some of these bridges were built, their design and construction like the Eiffel Tower in Paris was innovative enough that they were considered as engineering marvels of that time.

In the hilly areas of Kashmir, Frontier and Balochistan the bridges were and still are being built to cross valleys and the river gorges. These may be high bridges but their spans are generally short and foundations are placed either on dry land or in shallow waters of seasonal rivers and streams. Very often these are masonry arched structures with some use of steel beams and trusses, even though one occasionally comes across those single span rope bridges thrown over the river waters gushing through the narrow gorges. Pretty as they look, these rope bridges are not permanent structures and could be dangerous to vehicle crossing.

The biggest challenge in bridge building in Pakistan comes at the crossings of the five major rivers in Punjab and the Indus River in Sindh respectively. None of the governments of the past, imperial or otherwise, attempted to construct permanent bridges over these rivers as rivers were almost always used as another line of defense against invaders from the north and west. That is one reason one sees major old forts all along the south and east sides of the rivers and no permanent bridges. Invading armies waited till the end of the summer and crossed the rivers by using boat bridges constructed by tying boats side by side with ropes and then placing wooden planks to provide the smooth riding surface.

British on the other hand, after conquering the areas now constituting Pakistan in mid nineteen century moved the first line of defense all the way to the top of Hindu Kush Mountains. Thus freeing themselves to span the major rivers with permanent structures for both road and rail use. An era of large permanent bridge structures dawned in areas now constituting Pakistan.

Starting from north, the Attock Bridge on river Indus and the Jhelum Bridge over river Jhelum, both near the cities of the same names respectively, are noteworthy. Also are the rail bridges over river Chenab near Wazirabad and over river Ravi near the capital city of Lahore.

These are all truss structures made of smelted iron fabricated one unit at a time from structural steel. Although labor intensive these structures could be erected without the benefit of heavy industrial complexes or construction machinery. These are multi span bridges with masonry foundations constructed within the river beds. Even though the modern techniques of using coffer dams to construct large masonry footings in water were not available, the engineers were able to temporarily divert the rivers to the other side and thus construct the footings in dry grounds. Spanning of the five rivers allowed the colonial rulers to connect Punjab and beyond to their Imperial capital Delhi located in the Ganges valley in northern India.

The real engineering challenge for the bridge builders came with the need to link Punjab with Sindh by crossing river Sutlej and Sindh with Balochistan by crossing river Indus. Sites near the cities of Bahawalpur and Sukher were selected for the river crossings. These two bridges now in Pakistan are often referred in the history books.

William St. John Galwey, (1833-1891) an Irishman from Cork County was called upon to construct the Bridge over Sutlej. Earlier in his capacity as railway engineer he had successfully completed the construction of the Jhelum Bridge. The Sutlej Bridge also known as Adam Wahan Bridge is the only rail bridge over Sutlej River in Pakistan. Its opening ceremonies were scheduled to coincide with the coronation of Queen Victoria and hence in her honor was named as The Empress Bridge.

The Sukkur Bridge over Indus River, also known Lansdowne Bridge was inaugurated on March 25, 1889. It is the longest single span cantilever bridge of its kind.

Since the technique of diverting river waters could not be applied to the mighty Indus and constructing piers in water by using cofferdams was not developed yet, the engineers had no choice but to support the structure by cantilevering from the shores. Two identical impressive structures, one on each side of the river, with multiple vertical and cross trusses were anchored into massive footings on the shores and then tied to the “dead man” back anchors.

Finally sections of the bridge deck, extended one third of the way at each shore and reaching out to the other side, were placed. The middle piece, which consisted of simple trusses also used in other bridges in Punjab, was finally placed to connect the two cantilevered sides. This last central piece of the bridge not only connected the two sides of the river, it also connected Baluchistan with the down country. The mastery of the Briton over South Asia was complete.

Pervaiz Munir Alvi is a Ravian and trained as a Civil and Geo-technical Engineer.

The virtual world is beginning to blend seamlessly with the real world. The social side of technology is making the World Wide Web much more localized by bringing like-minded people together and in the process creating closely knit online communities.

A combination of features like worldwide accessibility and instantaneous communication has made it possible for backpackers, globetrotters, and other adventurers from all over the world to join together at different online platforms to exchange information, experiences, and plans in their favorite pursuit — travel.

Subscribers range from the professional travel writers to hardcore travelers and adventurers and regular folks who are simply interested in reading online. Travel communities are accessible by millions of interested people all over the world.

Out of some major and lesser travel forums on the Web, I have had the good fortune to belong to a few and have been visiting some others for my travel information needs.

Exceptions apart, all virtual travel communities have some common features. Communities mostly provide a warm, trusting, and supportive atmosphere. When members share information, they do it with great care and responsibility. They rely on each other more than they do on outdated travel guidebooks or on second-hand and static information from conventional travel literature.

Visit any online community and one finds anything related to travel, along with flames and off topic comments, which are sometimes informative, sometimes funny, and occasionally annoying. The mutual exchange of information is not restricted only to destinations, affordable places to stay and dine in, security issues, maps, weather conditions there. and where to find the best bargains and how to find public restrooms or which Websites better describe any particular place (or which dress a female anthropologist going to study Kalash clan up in northern district Chitral should wear during her extended stay there). It goes much further to helping in finding work, selling and promoting each other in local markets.

“Travel forums have become hunting grounds for meeting fellow travelers and making new friends. You really do not require any other reason to join a community or two,” says Atoorva Sinha, who intends building up the travelers’ community at Mindzwine.

Carla King is a founding member of one virtual travel community called Wild Writing Women for female travelers. She emailed, “When we published 'Wild Writing Women — Stories of World Travel' (an anthology of women’s travel stories) — we got a lot of publicity. People wanted to know how we traveled solo and weren’t afraid, and just how we went about it. We started giving workshops. We also started giving writing workshops and hosted a free monthly literary salon. People just gravitated, and we accepted them. We made a business of it and formed the online community. So it’s a profitable business for us to expand the community, and also, happily, it’s close to our hearts.”

Members are slow to respond sometime. Chris Heidrich, the director of BootsnAll says, “One has to be patient in waiting for a response from members and insiders. It should be understood that it is a voluntary favor and some people do not come on board or check email as often.” Court, who is always found on board in the same community adds, “Some time they may be away traveling to yet another location.”

The recipients of information have to keep in mind that whatever comes is based upon individuals’ personal experiences or empirical observations. One member may have had different experiences than others. When I posted a query about virtual travel communities (for this article) at the BootsnAll community, the first reply referred me to Nick, the mediator at another community at Bali Blog who in turn advised me to email direct to all on his mailing list. The replies I am still receiving are varied, showing so many perspectives. “There is nothing like variety,” says Nick.

The virtual world is composed of information rather than physical identities. Information spreads and diffuses. Those who belong to these impalpable spaces are also diffuse, free to take it or leave it.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Those who want to save on more than 8,000 brand-name and all generic medications including discounts on flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers and diabetic supplies and also want to get risk free membership to Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens.

Walgreens – one of the largest drug stores chain in United States with more than 7,500 drugstores - is offering a special discount on annual membership for its Prescription Savings Club and a family membership offers coverage to everyone in immediate family, including a spouse, dependents 22 and younger and pets just for $10. For individuals the fee for the membership is $5. And savings are simply great. Risk free Walgreens Prescription Savings Club membership is not only easy way to save but also a great convenience. Which is why over two million are availing discount pricing on their medications as members? (If you are interested, you must get the membership before the discount expires in Jan 31, 2012. You will still be able to join after January though on normal rates).

Everyone needs medication at one point or the other in life. I suggest you take a look at Walgreens and see what they offer and how affordably. The site is information and resource rich and users friendly. Also support Walgreens and stay updated by liking Walgreens on Facebook and following Walgreens on Twitter. I am connected with them on both. You too must.

Fort Munro was originally known as Anari Mool, Balochi language words meaning hilltop with Pomegranate trees. In 1880, the British Commission of Layyah Division Mr. Munro developed this place and shifted here the summer headquarters of Layyah Division. The road from Dera Ghazi Khan to this place was constructed in 1880 and the name of place was changed to Fort Munro.


The vacation spot is now abounded by the rest houses of different government departments and private residences. Plaque of Munro house on the remains of old commissioner house and name plate of Robert Sandeman (the originator of Forward Policy) can also be seen near the relics of one of the old houses. It is impossible to describe the fort and other old buildings as all the traces of ancient remains have vanished.

The tribal area conceded to Punjab in 1950 under an agreement between the Pakistan government and eight of the prominent Tumanders. The names of the Tumanders who signed the agreement are written on the monumental slab standing near the old commissioner house.

There is an old Christian graveyard in Fort Munro. The signs of only few graves are left by the rages of time. One prominent grave with a cross on the top is of Maude Evelyn - the wife of Captain Frerrar who died in 1906 at the age of 26 years. Another that can be recognized is of an infant who died at the age of six days.

Trimun waterfall is one of the most beautiful sights in Fort Munro. Droplets of clean and cold water fall into a bowl cut out from stone. Local lore assign that a sufi named Ali Muhammad Laghari made this bowl. People and animal used to take water from these sources before the water supply scheme started with the installation of tube wells in village Kaha Sultan. The people of the villages around Fort Munro living in tough but graceful subsistence still do the same. Covered with huge trees and about 100 steps down is Demis lack. Boat that used to be here for tourist is lying broken in one corner of the lack. There is a need of a small shop where people can buy tea, drinks and other eatables. And, the benches should be installed around the lack.

Tourism Corporation has constructed a hotel on the location. Having no other choice, the tourists might stay here but they invariably settle for “Sajji” lunch and or dinner that are famous in the area.

The only resort in Southern Punjab deserves much more attention than what it is getting. It could be developed into a popular, busy and income generation resort in the area. Presently, sadly, what all one gets in Fort Munro is a bit of cool breeze. Extensive tree plantation is required in the entire area. Some attractions like Chair Lift (project for the installation of chair lifts from village Annari to Demis lack is already there in papers) will also do wonders with the good old Fort Munro.