RAWALPINDI: Finding the elevated metro bus track from Committee Chowk to 6th Road uneven, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday directed the contractor concerned to re-carpet it within four days.

During a visit to the garrison city on Sunday, Mr Sharif inspected the metro bus track from Saddar Rawalpindi to Pakistan Secretariat in Islamabad and found some loopholes in it.

Talking to Dawn, Metro Bus Project Implementation Committee Chairman Hanif Abbasi said while traveling from Committee Chowk to 6th Road the chief minister found that the road was bumpy. He directed the contractor to re-carpet the three bumpy patches stretching to about 60 metres.

Former MNA Malik Shakil Awan, who also accompanied the chief minister, added that Mr Sharif expressed displeasure over the quality of work from Committee Chowk to 6th Road and from Parade Ground to the Secretariat in Islamabad.

“The track measuring 3.5 kilometres from Committee Chowk to 6th Road will be re-carpeted in four days to remove the humps, especially near the bus stations.”

He said the chief minister was unhappy to see the electricity poles on Murree Road and asked the Iesco chief to shift all the wires from Saddar to Chandni Chowk underground as the provincial government had already made payment to the company for this purpose prior to the start of the project. He said the local government and the RDA were also directed to plan the beautification of the areas along the Murree Road from Teli Mohallah to Naz Cinema as the dilapidated buildings had become an eyesore.

Shahbaz Sharif orders re-carpeting of the track from Committee Chowk to 6th Road in four days

A senior official of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) told Dawn that the chief minister was informed about the progress of work on the project. He was assured that the contractors would complete the work during the stipulated time.

However, he said, the chief minister expressed displeasure over the slow pace of work and said the project was already behind schedule as it was supposed to be completed by the end of January.

He said after the departure of the chief minister from a meeting at the Punjab House, the contractor of the metro bus project section from Parade Ground to the Secretariat sought 10 more days to complete the work. The contractor was of the view that the work would not be completed within a week.

The official said the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) had started planting low-quality saplings at high rates of Rs300 per plant on the Murree Road. He said the chief minister was also disappointed to see the substandard work on some bus stations.

He said the chief minister also wanted the early removal of heaps of construction material from Murree Road besides improving the sanitation work.

When contacted, Commissioner Zahid Saeed told Dawn that the chief minister had directed them to complete the construction work on the metro bus project within four days.

“The chief minister will get a daily briefing through video conference from Monday about the progress,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play