Delay in road repair causing inconvenience,

[Salman]

Delay in road repair causing inconvenience,

Islambad :The road sign in this photograph warns motorists of a dangerous pit and the construction material lying ahead.

‘Khabardar! Agay kaam ho raha hai’ (Beware, work in progress ahead). But residents living close to this spot on Nazimuddin Road believe, it should read: ‘Khabardar! Agay kaam nahi ho raha (Beware! work is not in progress).

“If the procedure of filling up a hole in the road is so lengthy that it can take months then at least the warning signs should be made according to that. It is only us who know that no work has been carried out at this place for months. All we see is the stones lying there unattended,” said Saleem Ahmed, a resident of the adjoining area.

This pile of stones has been lying right in the middle of the road for the past several months. And this mess is just next to two dangerous intersections, where accidents occur regularly.

With traffic lights only blinking amber to alert the motorists, the motorists are on their own here to decide when to go and when to stop. The pile of stones adds to their problems further squeezing the space for the traffic flow.

This section of the road caved in following rains in September and soon afterwards a truckload of rocks was unloaded here. It seemed that the damaged area would be repaired in a matter of days. But then days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months.

“A few times, we see CDA officials examining the spot, but the slow pace of work shows that authority is not interested in repairing the broken part of the road and pavement,” said Saleem.

Ramzan Sajid, spokesman for the Capital Development Authority (CDA) said the repair work would start within this week. “When the relevant department arrived at the scene, they found there were multiple problems that needed to be rectified.” He said that there are several service lines passing through this point, but the main cause of damage was the sewerage line. “Everything has to be rectified before the pit is filled with rocks and other material.” He said that the relevant department has studied the maps and the work will start soon. “It will involve a bit more digging, but it will be done without disturbing the traffic,” he claimed.