Panjshir team aids mosque repair

  • Published
  • By Capt. Joe Campbell
  • Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team
PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  Thanks to the cooperative efforts of an Afghan village, coalition forces and an engineering firm, a mosque that was in the way of a road construction project here has been repaired.

A temporary bridge had to be erected while the permanent bridge across an irrigation canal in Bazarak was being replaced as part of a 47-kilometer road project being constructed by Entes, a Turkish engineering company.

"The partial destruction and then repair of the mosque was necessary to allow Entes to put in a diversionary bridge while the permanent one was built," said Army Capt. Nick Ashbaugh, the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team's Civil Affairs Team leader.

The new bridge is part of the U.S. Agency for International Development-funded $16 million road project through the center of the Panjshir Valley that will eventually provide paved road from the province to the cities of Charikar and Kabul.

"Partly destroying a mosque is a touchy subject, so obviously local elders were reluctant to allow the road to go through unless the contractor put it in writing that they would repair the mosque," said Lt. Col. Neal Kringel, Panjshir PRT commander.

The elders were willing to allow the corner of the mosque to be removed to make way for the temporary bridge after the PRT promised the repairs would be made.

"Within 48 hours of (the elders' agreement) we had a contract in place to do the work on the mosque and all were happy," Captain Ashbaugh said.

When the permanent bridge was completed and the temporary bridge removed, the PRT used Commander's Emergency Response Program funds to not only make repairs, but also to improve the structure with windows, paint and other touches.

"The people in Panjshir place a lot of trust in us," Colonel Kringel said. "This project is testament to what can be accomplished when all parties work together for the good of Afghanistan's future."

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