THATTA: The Thatta-Sujawal road, rebuilt by Sindh government with assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), has gained economic importance as it provides access to Thar coal fields, according to an official.

The rehabilitation and up-gradation of the 35.5km road — carried out by the works and services department of the provincial government with assistance from the ADB — has brought about a positive change in the life of people living in 112 villages and three towns of Sujawal district.

An official of the department told journalists that the Thar Coal Development Authority had taken the responsibility of upgrading and maintaining two roads, one linking Sujawal with Badin and the other between Badin and Islamkot.

The Thatta-Sujawal road has been rebuilt in 18 months under the ADB-sponsored flood emergency reconstruction project after the massive floods of 2012. The official claimed that the road project was the first to have been completed under the plan.

The area is rich in agriculture and boasts three major crops — rice, sugarcane and banana. The up-gradation of the road has helped farmers to take their produce from farm to market.

Fish and poultry farms can be seen on both sides of the road, helping to reduce poverty and creating employment opportunities in the area.

With the improved communication network, education facilities at primary and secondary levels are also coming up in the area but health facilities are poor.

The up-gradation of the road has helped investors to set up rice and sugar mills to take advantage of the agricultural production in the area.

Sujawal has also gained importance in terms of gas exploration because a gas field exists in the Kirthar block of the district.

Syed Ashfaque Husain, an official of the Sindh works and services department, said the road was earlier in a pathetic condition and travelling on it was a miserable experience.

According to him, 51 projects were undertaken in seven districts of Sindh at a cost of Rs12 billion by utilising the ADB loan. Roads in the districts of Kashmore, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Thatta, Jamshoro, Dadu and Kamber-Shahdadkot were severely damaged by the floods. Now the roads have been reconstructed.

He said a road network of 800km was to be upgraded and reconstructed under the project but the department managed to reconstruct 950km roads because of the dollar’s high exchange rate. Three bridges were also built.

He said another phase of road reconstruction was coming up because roads spanning at least 1,800km had to be upgraded in the province.

About benefits of the Thatta-Sujawal road, a happy villager, Mohammad Samar Khalifa, said his car used to take an hour to cover a distance of 8km on the road but now it took only five minutes.

Abdul Razzak, a social worker of the area, also said that public life would improve with the reconstruction of the road.

Mohammad Azhar, a truck driver, said he found the new road to be quite safe. The cost of maintaining the truck would also be reduced.

Published in Dawn, November 15th , 2014