RAWALPINDI: Even though more than 62,000 vehicle ply on a 20km stretch of G.T. Road – recently named Potohar Avenue – between Kutchery Chowk and Rawat, the authorities have failed to fix the condition of the highway, making the life of commuters miserable.

Dawn observed that layers of the road were trimmed – excavation and removal of earth materials – at various points, shoulders dug up presumably for expansion of the path, and rainwater accumulated at multiple locations along the 20km stretch. Similarly, construction materials and debris are scattered all over the place.

The surface trimmed at various points has been left unattended for months – a practice in vogue for several years – sometimes one lane is trimmed, sometimes another, but all meet their fate i.e. they are left unattended for weeks, sometimes even months.

For thousands of commuters, the half-an-hour ride has turned into an hour-long ordeal, as potholes and dug-up roadsides hamper the flow of traffic. Over the past 10 years, there was not a single time traffic flowed smoothly on this artery. In 2017, the authorities started the expansion of the road and Soan Bridge, but they failed to complete the construction work on the bridge, six years on. The commuters, who are the victim of the government’s incompetence and apathy, are paying the cost of this sluggishness.

Govt focused on ‘beautification drive’ instead of fixing 20km stretch

On the other hand, everything looks good on paper – the road has been renamed to Potohar Avenue and there have been frequent beautification drives to make it presentable. It is common to observe plantations, installation of light poles, patchworks, and painting of sidewalks. This embellishment goes on in the midst of accumulated rainwater due to insufficient drainage.

One of the busiest rods in the garrison city, it is used by thousands of people, including hundreds of goods transporters who enter the city from other parts of the province via G.T. Road.

“I have been travelling on this road for the last ten years and I have never found it in a perfect condition; sometimes there is carpeting work going on; sometimes digging is underway, and when there is a downpour, rainwater is accumulated in these construction sites, causing massive traffic jams,” a resident, who regularly travels on this road, tells Dawn.

Meanwhile, work-shy traffic wardens do not give two hoots about regulating traffic, particularly on the bridge, as they are mostly standing by the road, busy in chitchats or stopping goods vehicles.

The former army chief had also taken notice of the delay in the Soan Bridge construction, but in spite of his intervention, there has been no progress.

People, especially students, professionals, and businessmen travelling on the road feel frustrated due to the situation as they blame the district administration and authorities concerned for the poor state of this road.

A resident of a housing society, who has a PhD degree and travels between Rawat and Saddar on a daily basis, said he has visited different countries but he has never seen such a shoddy state of affairs.

“In other countries, authorities provide an alternate route first before embarking on the construction of roads, but in Pakistan, the situation is quite disappointing,” he continued.

He further said none of the senior officials, particularly those who award the construction contracts, ever bothered to witness the misery their ill-planned heap on commuters.

Another female expatriate commented that she was unable to understand why the authorities concerned kept building roads and other infrastructure of poor quality instead of doing good-quality work only once. “I think they should engage specialist foreign experts if they lack planning experts.”

Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi commissioner, Liaquat Ali Chattha, presented a rosy picture of the affairs and said special directives have been issued and people would experience ‘pleasant change’ as a result. However, his claims stand in complete contrast to the situation on the ground – only if he could see it himself.

A senior official of the National Highway Authority was hopeful that the widening of the Soan River Bridge would complete by November, provided the monsoon rains did not “hamper the construction work”. Nine electricity poles have been causing a delay in the construction work and the officials concerned have not intervened despite multiple reminders, he claimed. He said in addition to the Soan River Bridge – three more development projects (not initiated by the NHA) have been started which are also causing problems for the commuters.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2023