RAHIM YAR KHAN: Construction work on a road in good condition is underway without addressing the sewerage issues of adjoining localities.

Sewage has flooded roads and streets for over a month.

According to residents along Shahi Road, the Punjab Highway Department (PHD) is repairing different stretches between Rahim Yar Khan and Feroza at a cost of Rs3 billion. Work began last month on the section from Gulshan-i-Iqbal to Sultanpur.

The contractor placed large brown stones on the northern side and side by side, they started sealing sewerage line covers with cement and other materials before compacting the stones. This choked sewerage lines and residents of nearby areas took to social media and public meetings to criticise the PHD and municipal authorities.

They said that with the compaction of stones, sewage overflowed into the streets of Azizabad, Iqbalnagar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Essa Colony, Wahab Garden, Gulberg Residentia, Rahim Garden, and Gulshan-i-Ravi. They said it had become difficult for them to move for their daily routine.

Locals fear millions will go down the drain

They questioned why the district administration remained silent over the ‘repair’ of an already well-maintained road and its level was being raised by nearly a foot.

When contacted, Additional Deputy Commissioner General Irfan Anwar, who also serves as municipal committee (MC) administrator, said he had directed Chief Officer Rana Mehmood Ahmed to address the issue. Ahmed stated that the MC had written to the PHD executive engineer (EXEN) on Feb 11, requesting a halt to construction due to the sewerage problem. The work was ongoing even on Monday when this story was filed.

He blamed the situation on the failure of the mega sewerage project in Rahim Yar Khan and said a development scheme had been prepared to resolve the issue. Under the Punjab Intermediate City Improvement Investment Programme, monitored by the Deputy Commissioner, Rs32.5 million was allocated in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank.

Tender notices will be issued within two days, and the scheme will connect all old and new sewerage lines of Shahi Road and adjacent areas to the main mega sewerage line.

He said the MC will only grant permission for further road construction after the scheme’s completion in the next fiscal year.

As the work is ongoing, residents say that if sewerage work begins after road construction, they will face additional hardships due to the stone-filled road.

Repeated attempts to contact PHD EXEN Syed Hussnain Zedi and Deputy Director of Planning and Development Talib Randhvawa for their comments remained unanswered till the filing of this report.

Despite written instructions by the MC administrator and the chief officer, the PHD contractor has not stopped work. On the instructions of EXEN, he laid stones from Adda Khanpur to Gulshan-i-Iqbal.

A press release said Deputy Commissioner Khuram Pervez had ordered a joint team of the MC and the district council to resolve the sewerage problems of Shahi Road areas. The team recommended the release of tenders of Rs33.7 million to address the issue which will be issued soon.

Only restoration and disilting of sewerage lines will be done, the press release reads.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2025