Saturday, 09 November 2019 (Date of Visit)
(All pictures and the writeup is author integral property, please respect copyright)
Pul Shah Daula, A Two-story bridge that Constructed 400 years ago.
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View of Bridge from the downstream west side |
Tapiala Dost Muhammad Khan is a small
town located 11.7 km on Muridka-Narang Mandi Road. The old route of Grand Trunk
Road passes through this town. Remains of the old Grand Trunk road still can be
seen outside of this village. Also, GT Road from Tapiala (mausoleum) made the
onward journey to Pul Shah Daula with an ancient arched bridge on Nullah Degh.
Dr.
Saifur Rehman Dar is a
famous historian and has done a detailed survey on GTR and caravanserais built
along this road. According to him, the Pul shah Daula was most
likely constructed in the times of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. So, the bridge is roughly 400 years
old.
However, no
reference in any history books could be found, that why the name of this bridge
attributed to a famous saint Shah Daula, who buried in Gujrat.
I visited the
site of the bridge in 2019. It is a tall bridge spanning over five arches and still
operational for every type of traffic. The most fascinating thing about this
bridge is that it has two stories. The piers supporting the top deck slab are
rising from another deck slab which lies roughly at one foot above the current
water level in the stream. Both Deck Slabs
have a 20 ft difference in height.
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Another View |
The bridge
was constructed in two phases. After the completion of the first phase of construction,
the Degh Nullah (which have a source from Jammu) have seen some high
floods, and the bridge got completely drowned under the water.
Shah Jahan
expanded the Mughal Empire to the west beyond the Khyber Pass to Ghazna and
Kandahar. For timely supplies and communication of military troops, Grand trunk
road played an important role in the past. Pul
Shah Daula was one of the major bridges on Grand trunk road. The news of it getting
drowned must have been created a panic in Shah Jehan court. The architect
assigned to design the bridge screwed for considering the wrong values of flood
levels. Mughals who have all the resources and builders at that time to
construct a new bridge. It seems the orders of construction of the new bridge on the existing bridge deck have come in quite a haste.
One last Burj
is standing on one end of the parapet wall. The overall stability condition
of this bridge does not seem to be good. Complete neglect has been
observed by the concerned Government department to conserve such a great architecture of the past.
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The last Standing Burj on Bridge |
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Burj, cracks can be seen below, could be collapse at any time |
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Standing on deck slab of Bridge |
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Degh Nullah downstream in background |
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Another view of the Bridge from the upstream side |
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Another view of the Bridge from the upstream side |
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Another view of the Bridge from the upstream side |
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Portions of Grand Trunk Road present before the Bridge of Shah Daula |
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Remain of Grand Trunk Road |
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Remains of Grand Trunk Road |
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Remains of Grand Trunk Road |
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Remains of Grand Trunk Road |
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Remains of Grand Trunk Road |
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Remains of Grand Trunk Road |
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