FAISALABAD: Khadim Bhatti, a grower from Gurri village near Jhang Road, is happy as the district government is going to construct a link road after years that will connect his village to the motorway through the main Narawala Road.

Currently, Gurri village along with some other areas, including Parokianwala, Talianwala, Mulvayanwala, Shersinghwala, Chohla and others, was not directly linked with main roads and residents of these areas had to use unpaved roads to access Jhang Road or Narawala Road.

Sources said a private consultant company had conducted traffic study for Faisalabad in 1997, which recommended developing Ring Road around the city. In 2008, the Punjab government had approved PC-II for a feasibility study, survey and design of the Ring Road. But the Punjab government had shelved the plan as its cost was estimated at Rs66 billion out of which Rs8 billion was required for land possession, forcing the district government to find alternate ways. The proposed length of the road was 66km with 8km as average distance from the city centre, they added.

Distance to reach motorway interchange to be halved from 20km to 10km

As a substitute, the link road of Gurri village along with a few other roads had been approved by the Punjab government two years ago and construction work initiated.

Bhatti said he was negotiating rates with masons for demolishing the front portion of his outhouse as the road would pass in front of it. The road will increase property value in the village and also enable villagers to access the two main roads -- Jhang Road and Narawala Road -- easily.

He said currently people had to cover more than 20km to reach the motorway interchange. The link road will reduce the distance to 10km. He said some villagers could try to approach the courts for a stay order however “I am trying to convince them by narrating the benefits of the road”. Such roads will bring prosperity to farmers who could take their crops to markets easily, Bhatti said.

Commenting on the shelved Ring Road, Noorul Amin Mengal, the former district coordination officer and now Punjab Food Authority director general, told Dawn the district government had struggled to get the road approved for Faisalabad. A detailed study had also been conducted and roads selected to be used for the Ring Road of major thoroughfares.

However, it was not feasible as its cost was about Rs66 billion and Rs8 billion was needed for land acquisition. He said instead of putting this issue on the backburner, the district government had initiated another study to find a substitute for the Ring Road and finally selected various roads that could cater to the needs of the masses.

The district government’s planning department had been assigned the task of finding suitable roads to link the disconnected roads to major thoroughfares.

District Officer (Planning) Muhammad Ramzan said he along with other officials had surveyed various areas to find alternatives to the Ring Road. He said work on various roads was under way and would be completed within a couple of months. The Punjab government had approved this project along with some others and the Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA) been given the task for its completion, he added.

FDA Director General Yawar Hussain told Dawn construction work on seven roads had been initiated out of which construction of 7.8km road from Narawala Road to Jhang Road via Marzipura was a major project costing Rs210 million. Other roads whose construction/improvement was approved and begun in some cases are Maqbool Town Pul to Narawala Road along Paharang drain, Mansoorabad 66ft main bazaar, road from Treat Bakery Canal Road to Jhumra Road (Nighebanpura Phatak), road from Jaranwala Road to Satiana Road along Dhuddiwala minor (right side), remaining portion of Sirwala Rajbah up to Marizpura Road and Summundri Road (Abdullah Pul) to Rasalaywala Road via Sitara Colony. He said government would spend about Rs3 billion and the FDA was the executing agency.

Mehr Ayub, deputy director of the engineering department of FDA, said average width of the roads selected as alternatives to the Ring Road was 20ft to 24ft. He said all roads would be carpeted and people commute smoothly as the FDA had been monitoring the work.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2016