Work underway on the Murree-Kohala Road. — Dawn
Work underway on the Murree-Kohala Road. — Dawn

MURREE: The long-awaited reconstruction work of Murree-Kohala Road has started but only on a 23km portion from Lower Topa to Dewal, the native village of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

The rest of the road would be constructed after funds are released, said Punjab Highway Department’s Subdivisional Officer (SDO) Iftikhar Qureshi.

A year ago, repair work was started on the road but after digging it was stopped due to unknown reasons. According to the highway department, Rs370 million had been allocated for the repair work.

The Islamabad-Murree-Kashmir Highway connecting Islamabad and Punjab with Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) caters to heavy traffic of tourists, locals and people commuting between Punjab and AJK. The road has not been repaired for about 28 years.

Talking to this correspondent, Saeed Abbasi, Imran Abbasi, Hafeez Abbasi, Mubashir Abbasi and others said after so long the reconstruction of the road had been started but on a half portion of the road.

They appealed to the prime minister to release the approved funds for the construction of the road up to Kohala.

The SDO said Rs2.1 billion had been approved for the reconstruction of the road and Rs100 million transferred to the department.

He said the 23km-long portion of the road had been given to a private company which had started the reconstruction work and would complete it a year.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

Islamabad march
Updated 27 Nov, 2024

Islamabad march

WITH emotions running high, chaos closes in. As these words were being written, rumours and speculation were all...
Policing the internet
27 Nov, 2024

Policing the internet

IT is chilling to witness how Pakistan — a nation that embraced the freedoms of modern democracy, and the tech ...
Correcting sports priorities
27 Nov, 2024

Correcting sports priorities

IT has been a lingering battle that has cast a shadow over sports in Pakistan: who are the national sports...
Kurram ceasefire
Updated 26 Nov, 2024

Kurram ceasefire

DESPITE efforts by the KP government to bring about a ceasefire in Kurram tribal district, the bloodletting has...
Hollow victory
26 Nov, 2024

Hollow victory

THE conclusion of COP29 in Baku has left developing nations — struggling with the mounting costs of climate...
Infrastructure schemes
26 Nov, 2024

Infrastructure schemes

THE government’s decision to finance priority PSDP schemes on a three-year rolling basis is a significant step...