During the last a few years, the Rawalpindi Parks and Horticulture Authority and both the cantonment boards launched beautification campaigns with fanfare only to abandon them midway.

In June 2015, the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) established a pedestrian street after erecting gates on Bank Road Saddar, which was inaugurated by the then corps commander Lt-Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, who is now the army chief.

The RCB declared Bank Road as a walking street after refurnishing the area. It also managed to force the eateries to launch a facelift of their buildings with a blend of traditional local and Kashmiri architectures.

The RCB constructed a sitting area in front of the National Bank of Pakistan branch. The sitting area was established around a 100-year-old peepal tree.

An artist corner was also established for singers, flute players, Tabla Nawaz, violinists, guitarists, jugglers and other street performers in the walking street.

A clock tower with the latest design was erected in a crossing on the Bank Road.

To recall the history of Rawalpindi Cantonment, the pictures of Bank Road taken in 1876 and other areas were also hanged there for the history lovers. The replica of a 1908 Ford model car was also installed on the main road.

But after spending over Rs20 million, the RCB realised that it was a wrong decision to erect gates and declare Bank Road as a walking street.

Now things have changed. All vendors and shopkeepers have come back to the Bank Road with their stalls.

Footpaths are occupied by shopkeepers and banks in front of their shops and offices. Only two streets were maintained that connected Bank Road with Haider Road and declared a walking street.

In another example, the RCB constructed flower shops at Old Tonga Stand on Kashmir Road and planted date palm trees on Kashmir Road in front of General Post Office (GPO).

Ironically, 10 trees were planted there but the garden branch of the RCB failed to maintain the plants properly and as a result six of them dried up. The RCB even failed to start the flower shops and shelved the project.

Residents complain that the main focus of the civic body is to maintain roads in and around localities where influential politicians, government and military officers lived. The areas of low income group or main commercial hubs are usually ignored.

However, RCB spokesman Qaisar Mehmood said: “The RCB will soon launch beautification projects in Octroi No-22 (22 number Chungi), Chur Chowk and other areas.”

He said the decision to declare Bank Road as a walking street had been withdrawn as it created traffic problems in Saddar. He said traders expressed resentments as customers were not ready to visit the shopping malls on foot leaving their cars behind.

About the date palm trees, he said four trees dried up but the RCB was looking after flowers and plants on the main roads.

The Chaklala Cantonment Board failed to maintain the roads and its attention was limited to improve Chaklala Scheme-III areas only. “The civic body had enough funds to launch a beautification drive,” a senior official of the CCB told Dawn.

In the city area, the Rawalpindi Parks and Horticulture Authority launched a drive for the beautification of roads during the last two years after the construction of the metro bus elevated road but later abandoned it.

Now it has started reconstructing Fawara Chowk at Raja Bazaar but the fountain has not been completed even after four months.

The civic agency established flowerbeds under the elevated road but could not maintain them properly as it has been busy in constructing the Shahbaz Sharif Public Park and Square at Rawal Road and beautifying a road in the 6th Road area.

However, PHA Director General Malik Abid told Dawn that the beautification drive had been launched again in the city area and lights and road furniture were installed in front of 6th Road.

He said the PHA would soon launch work on the beautification of underpasses at Committee Chowk and Chandni Chowk. More plants would be planted along the main roads.

He said greenbelts were maintained properly and gardeners were looking after the flowers and other plants regularly.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2017