Lahore undergoes major ‘surgery’,

[Salman]

Lahore undergoes major ‘surgery’,

LAHORE – The provincial government’s sudden interest in dozens of new development projects in Lahore has left most roads around the City trenched, raising problems in the everyday lives of Lahorites, a survey conducted by The Nation revealed.

Rush hour traffic in Lahore was never less than a nightmare, but with most of the city roads dug up for laying sewerage pipelines, widening, surface maintenance and construction of flyovers majority of citizens are unable to reach their destinations on time due to traffic jams and congested diversion routes.

The government has initiated several development projects across the City, without any prior notification to the public, such projects include Lawrence Road, Circular Road from Railway Station to Azadi Chowk, Queen Marry College Road from Davis Road to Garhi Shahu, Kharak Road, a portion of GT Road, Shalimar Link Road, Kacha Band Road and a number of small roads and streets in residential and commercial areas.

The citizen’s misery was further multiplied, when the roads were excavated in the absence of a formal traffic plan for commuters; frequent and huge traffic jams have become the order of the day on roads in and around the City’s business and commercial centres.

In addition to that the rampant construction work has left the city engulfed in a blanket of dust, creating more problems for the residents of surrounding localities.

The polluted environment is posing health hazards for the population asthma and breathing problems at a rise.

When asked, the citizens often term the provincial government’s sudden interest in development projects as part of its campaign for upcoming general election.

They say that the government has initiated construction of many such roads which were perhaps never a part of the ‘master plan’ for the provincial metropolis. However these roads will undoubtedly be helpful in controlling the flow of traffic in the City.

“Government should start such projects one by one, initiating the work at the beginning of its rule”, opined Saeed Jamal, a resident of the Icchra area.

“Starting dozens of development projects at the same time is a sign of poor policies and ill-planning on part of the rulers and their machinery.” said Muzaffar Hussain, a resident of Garhi Shahu.

Meanwhile, a number of ongoing projects such as the Canal flyover at Muslim Town Mor and an underpass at Kalma Chowk, which had to be started immediately after the completion of Kalma Chowk Flyover, have been left pending.

The government has yet to complete the construction and widening of Multan Road, which has been pending for the past few years.

Other unfinished projects include road construction from Railway Station to Dharampura and sewerage pipelines laying project at Allama Iqbal Road where CDG and WASA have failed to meet the given deadlines