Islamabad: Old Murree Road —a ‘deathtrap’ for motorists

[Naveed Yaseen]

Noor Aftab
The old Murree Road has virtually become a ‘deathtrap’ for motorists. The reason behind it is that concerned authorities have not installed even a single signboard to warn them not to use this risky road where as many as eight accidents had occurred during the last few days.

A large number of people from all over the country go to Murree in the summer season where the weather is comparatively cooler. As the summer season has set in, hundreds of vehicles are now seen, especially on weekends, going towards Murree in long queues.

The whole road from toll plaza to upper parts of Murree is full of deep patches and motorists need a good luck and a high level of driving skills to avoid an accident.

“When I paid Rs45 at the toll tax plaza, the employees deputed there did not tell me about the condition of Murree Road, which pushed me and my family members in extreme difficulties,” said Waseem Raja who visited Murree along with his family members.

The people, who live in the stretch from Chattar Park to Sunny Bank, have to use this road to reach their homes. The most affected parts where big patches are posing danger to motorists include Salgaran, Tareth and Company Bagh.

The work on Islamabad-Murree Expressway, which links Islamabad to Muzaffarabad and Chakoti border area of the AJK, has been completed. It also links Murree through a link road.

But visitors, mostly from other parts of the country, often do not have much knowledge about the new road. For this reason, they usually use the traditional route but only to be subjected to immense hardships, thanks to concerned authorities who have so far not installed any signboard to guide them.

“We had no idea about the construction of the Murree Expressway so we used the old road,” said Mansoor Akhtar belonging to Lahore.

He said that it took them several hours to reach the Sunny Bank as they continued to move ahead at a snail’s pace to avoid any accident due to patches on the road.

The Murree Expressway is now the best option but only for those who know about it. It is a dual carriageway with four lanes, which is an added attraction for both local and foreign tourists, who want to visit Murree and its adjacent resorts.

After the inauguration of the project, the distance between Murree and Islamabad has been reduced. Concerned authorities have installed a cardboard some days back urging motorists to use the expressway to go to Murree. But this board has now been removed for unknown reasons.

At the start of the twentieth century, the British government established cantonments and military establishments at various places around Murree, including Kuldana, Gharial, Upper and Lower Topa, Barian and Kalabagh (near Nathiagali).

After independence, Murree continued to progress with each passing day and its popularity increased among people.

PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif took personal interest in the construction of the carpeted Murree Road when he was the chief minister of Punjab. Many people believe that it was the attention given by Nawaz Sharif that helped develop Murree into a modern recreational facility.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=178501