Delay in completion of project irks Pindiites

[Salman]

Rawalpindi

The delay in completion of Mareer Railway Bridge Expansion Project is causing great inconvenience to public and there seems no end to their miseries, as the executing body of the project has given yet another deadline for finishing work. The new deadline for the completion of the project is December 15, 2013.

The project, which was to be completed at a cost of Rs550 million, was launched in January 2013 and scheduled to be completed in March 15. But later, the deadline was extended many times and major reason for the delay in the project is slow pace of work despite the fact that the Government of Punjab has already released Rs450 million for the project from the total cost.

Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Deputy Director (Engineering) Umar Farooq told ‘The News’ that the Mareer Chowk expansion project would be completed till December 15, 2013. “We will complete double railway tracks over Mareer Chowk Bridge till December 15, 2013 and all kinds of traffic will ease out,” he said. He claimed that construction work was going on at a good pace, admitting the fact that Rs450 million out of total cost of Rs550 million have already been released by the provincial government. “There is no problem in timely release of funds by the provincial government,” he said. The Mareer Chowk expansion project would be completed till December 15 at any cost, he claimed.

Sources said that one reason behind the delay in Mareer Chowk expansion project was that the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) was relying only on one deputy director for the project and the chief engineer and director engineering were not involved at all in this project.

Talking to this scribe, people passing through Benazir Bhutto Road, particularly those who have to cross Mareer Chowk several times a day, said that they were fed up with the pace of development work on this project.

Raja Tahir Kiani, a motorist, said that work on the railway bridge expansion project at Mareer Chowk was going on at a snail’s pace, and commuters and pedestrians were suffering for more than nine months. “Motorists face problems due to lack of planning on part of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and City Traffic Police (CTP) as both have failed to manage traffic in a proper way at the construction site,” he said.

Muhammad Shahbaz, another motorist, said that traffic would not ease at Liaquat Bagh at Nullah Leh portion even after completion of the project. “The concerned authority is widening the roads on both sides, but the bridge at the Nullah Leh will become a bottleneck, which would create traffic mess as per routine,” he warned.

Ashfaq Ahmed, a senior citizen, said that people have been facing worst kind of traffic problems after the launching of this project. The concerned authorities should speed up construction work to ease out public sufferings at Mareer Chowk, he appealed.

The citizens have urged the concerned authorities to take solid steps to avoid traffic jam problem on city roads, particularly at Mareer Chowk. Several ambulances are seen stuck in long traffic queues on Benazir Bhutto Road most of the time, particularly during peak hours, they denounced.