The largest foot bridge in the HDF Provincial Reconstruction Team’s (HUN PRT-12) area of responsibility has been built with international cooperation in Shahabudin region. The American, Hungarian, German and Afghan nations have jointly constructed the Gadi passage in five months.

The 97-meter long foot bridge is suitable for bicycle and motorcycle traffic; moreover, it allows farmers to drive their cattle across to let them graze on the far bank of the river.

So far the only ways for local people to reach the banks divided by the fast-flowing current of the river have been either taking a boat or making a several-kilometer detour. For the +1,000 families living in the village, from now on this bridge is a symbol of opportunity which brings the countryside closer to the city. It will be easier for the locals to receive health care as well as for children to go to school, and trade may take an upturn too.

Besides the leaders of the province and ISAF, the local people coming from the two banks of the river also attended the inauguration ceremony to express their gratitude and thanks. One of the local farmers said “the ISAF troops have left their homes and families in order to come here to help the Afghan people, and this has a message for us.”

(Ministry of Defence)