Metro Bus Service to be inaugurated on Quaid’s birthday

[Salman]

LAHORE – The ongoing development work on the Metro Bus Service (MBS) has been accelerated on the directions of the provincial government and the project is likely to be inaugurated on December 25, sources informed TheNation on Sunday.

They further disclosed that the provincial government also took notice of the slow pace of work at some sections of the bus track especially at Ferozpur Road from Ichra to Qartab Chowk and directed the authorities to speed up work.

Talking to this scribe, Project Director Mazhar Khan said the pace of work on such an important section of the project was not slow in fact the issuance of grants of such specific portion was delayed on the part of the government caused holdup of construction work.

He said now the government issued award and the pace of would definitely be speeded up and completed within given time frame. So far as the date of completion of the project was concerned, the Director Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (TEPA) said hopefully the construction work would be completed approximately in two weeks and so far the expected date of inauguration of the project was to be announced by the provincial government. However, he said that the inauguration of the project was expected by the 25th of December.

Talking about the initiation of construction work on the Qartaba Chowk in order to make a signal free junction he said it would be initiated after the completion of the MBS. He said that the Qartaba Chowk Project was a separate project and not linked with the MBS.

Further, the government insiders said that the provincial government while directing the concerned authorities of the MBS said that it was a public welfare project and all efforts should be made for a speedy completion while every task should be completed within the timeframe at any cost. The insiders further added that the provincial government said that no compromise would be made on the quality of the project and in case of any complaint the persons responsible will not be spared.

The sources said that expressing dissatisfaction over the pace of work on the route of MBS from Qadaffi Stadium to Ichara, the government directed that the work should be accelerated and completed within the stipulated period. The government following the instructions of Punjab CM directed that Kalma Chowk was being made signal-free through construction of underpasses so that the citizens should not face any inconvenience. The insiders further disclosed that the foundation stone of the new bridge at the River Ravi for construction of MBS track would soon be laid by Punjab CM which would be a masterpiece of architecture.

Sources further said that the Punjab CM directed the project directors that flow of traffic at Chungi Amarsidhu and Azadi Chowk should be improved and the number of pedestrian bridges should be increased for the benefit of the people. He said that the contractors working on MBS should continue to work with commitment and utilise all their energies for the early completion of this welfare-oriented project.

They informed that the work was continuing speedily on various sections with all available possible resources are being utilised for its completion within the timeframe. They further informed that the route of metro bus from Ichra to Kartaba Chowk was likely to be completed by December 15 while the construction work of the additional bridge along Lahore Bridge would be completed by December 18.

The insiders added that the work on the E-ticketing system was also in progress expeditiously and a control room would be set up for MBS from which the movement of buses on the entire route will be monitored and passengers will be given information about the movement of the buses through LED screens.