PESHAWAR: The Bus Rapid Transit project in Peshawar has been causing psychological and physical diseases and hardships to the people, who are using the road, according to doctors and commuters.

The local transporters and commuters said that the builders were least concerned to provide relief to the people as the debris was left on both sides of the road that further narrowed down path for vehicles and pedestrians.

“It causes mental problems to people when they cover a distance of 10 minutes in one hour. The problems become more severe when it becomes a daily routine for people to undergo hardship,” noted psychiatrist Mian Iftikhar Hussain told Dawn.

He said that people remained under tension when they left homes for schools, offices or business places and faced trauma when they got back to homes.

Psychiatrist says people remain under tension when they leave homes

“In such situations, minor psychological ailments snowball into major mental health issues and leave lasting impacts on lives of people. Now the weather is cool but it is getting hotter that will cause extreme health issues to people passing through the road,” he said.

The physicians said that the dust caused by BRT was sources of endless woes for people, especially asthmatic and tuberculosis patients, who saw aggravation in their problems. “It is a permanent headache for the people of Peshawar and others, who visit the provincial metropolis because of ill planning by the government and the contractors,” said a physician.

He said that the environment was full of pollution. “No proper alternative routes have been designated. Some routes have been identified as substitutes but these are highly congested,” he said. He added respiratory diseases had increased since launch of the project.

The cost of the project is Rs49 billion. It will be completed by April 20.

Transporters are the worst affected people as they have to suffer losses due to slow-paced traffic on the road.

“The builders are not removing debris from digging on time. The scattered pieces of clotted cements and ditches have made it a Herculean task for us to travel easily,” said a driver. He added that they became sick with driving vehicles on bumpy road as they were unable to earn appropriately.

The driver said that prior to launch of the project, they used to take five trips from General Bus Stand to Karkhano Market but then they only managed two trips per day.

“The digging process has worsened the condition of road as mud and stones lie on both sides, which slow down movement. The situation would get improved if the builders are asked to pave the portion of the road affected by the digging and construction,” he said.

The students have to face an awkward situation as they don’t have space to cross the roads. “We have to wait longer to cross the dug up road. On rainy days, we reach schools not only late but with dirty clothes and shoes,” said Mohammad Akram, a student of University Public School.

He said that most of his classmates, who come from remote areas, had to run from pillar to post to embark on bus. They became habitual late-comers since start of the project.

The trade and business activities have come to a halt in the city, especially on University Road where main franchise outlets are located. “We are paying rent and salaries to salesmen but business has declined as there is no space for parking,” said a manger at a shoes shop.

He said that they had been requesting for removal of debris lying in front of their shops but nobody cared.

A retired road engineer blamed the government for the problems. “The project has been started without any proper evaluation of roads, feasibility and planning due to which it has been causing socio-economical and hazardous health issues,” he said.

He said that there was no one to remove rickshaws and vendors, especially from Board area, which became albatross around the neck of people. “The government asks the motorists to use Board Bazaar as alternative route from University but the same is full of Afghan refugees, who have set up businesses on the road,” he added.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2018