TRANSPORT PARALYSED AS MUBUKU BRIDGE IN KASESE COLLAPSES.

Heavy tracks traveling from Kampala to Kasese and vice versa have been affected in the latest diversion of the route as experts try to save Mubuku bridge in Kasese from collapsing.

After three consecutive water overflows in the Kasese main rivers in one week, Mubuku Bridge on River Mubuku on the Kasese-Fort Portal road developed cracks forcing disaster management officials to order that trucks loaded with lagged beyond five tones cross no more.

Kasese’s main Rivers of Mubuku, Rwimi, Nyamwamba and Nyamugasane again flood for the third time in a week. Two people died on Monday after being swept away by the Rwimi River that separates Kasese and Kabarole districts.

The National Coordinator of the emergency operations in the Office of the Prime Minister Maj. Gen. Julius Oketta confirmed the development that a quick assessment on the bridge indicated that only light vehicles can cross as ways of rectifying the problem are being sought.

He said that police has been instructed to divert the heavy trucks at Busega round about not to take the Fort-Portal road but instead go through Mbarara as the best alternative.

The same has been done at the Kasese Round-about to stop heavy trucks from the Democratic Republic of Congo not to use the Kasese-Fort Portal road.

This means, there could be a big effect on the Lubiriha market at the border with DRC since most of the trucks bringing merchandise and goods from Kampala and Mombasa might have been blocked on the way heading to Kasese.

Gen. Oketta however, said that a robust and coordinated response operation started on Tuesday morning to try save Mubuku Bridge with bags of sand being heaped on the sides so that the pavement is not washed away in the next floods.

 Meanwhile, heavy machinery is being applied to make a road diversion for opening the Buhunga road that will work as the only alternative to access Kilembe Township following the collapse of the Katiri Bridge on one side.

The Mayor Kasese Municipality Mr. Godfrey Kabbyanga said that the collapse of the bridge was hindering plans to restore electricity line to the Kilembe Mines tunnels that need power to pump water from the undergrounds.

Currently, engineers from Kilembe Mines and Umeme are working around the clock to fix the electricity line that was cut off during the Wednesday floods.

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