Rawalpindi Development News : Work in progress to give city a new look

[Salman]

Rawalpindi Development News : Work in progress to give city a new look

RAWALPINDI : The main roads and squares in the city will get a new look as the Parks and Horticulture Agency (PHA) has launched a beautification drive installing statues and decoration pieces along the busy arteries.

The statues of horses and horsemen installed on Rashid Minhas Road and Marir Chowk are giving an attractive look to the areas.

The agency has also started landscaping along Benazir Bhutto Road, Liaquat Road, Double Road and at the squares from Marir Chowk to Faizabad.

It also made flower beds along the railway line from Nogaza Road to Marir Chowk. In the past, the area was known for heaps of garbage, waste construction material and broken footpaths.

The agency also plans to carve out sculptures at the commissioner office to present the cultures of the four provinces as well as Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir from the next month. Similar work has already been done at Committee
Chowk and the overhead railway bridge at Marir Chowk. The square at the centre of the main road has been widened and shed for traffic warden also installed there. Besides, zebra crossings have been painted anew on the road.

The beautification work drew mixed reactions. Some commuters said the civic agencies should add new decoration pieces at main squares.

“The installation of cultural pieces at main square of busiest Marir Chowk is like a visual treat and the civic agencies should also improve the historical Fawara Chowk which is in a pathetic condition and needs rehabilitation on an urgent basis,” said Naeem Ahmed, a resident of Chaklala Scheme-III.

On the other hand, some people said the agencies concerned should improve civic facilities like covering open manholes, constructing broken roads, footpaths, sewerage system and repairing water supply lines in the most neglected areas of the city.

“It is shameful and wastage of money that PHA has started a beautification drive ignoring the real issues in the city. There are encroachment, water logging, broken footpaths and uncovered manholes which require urgent attention,” said Mehar Majeed, a resident of Dhoke Chiraghdin.

Mushtaq Ahmed, the PHA managing director, told Dawn that the agency had started the beautification drive in phases. We have completed landscaping at some green belts and main roads in the city, he added.

He said the agency was working to install statues of horsemen and horses on many roads to present the local culture in the Potohar region. He said seasonal flower beds had also been constructed and saplings planted along the main roads.

To a question, he said there was no proposal for rehabilitation of Fawara Chowk at Raja Bazaar. However, he said the agency would chalk out a plan to improve the historical square in the next phase.

Mr Mushtaq said PHA would plant saplings and flower beds along Chandani Chowk Flyover after its completion.