KARACHI, June 10: Over a dozen main thoroughfares of the city, which have been dug up for reconstruction, along with some other roads in incredibly dilapidated conditions might pose a serious danger to the lives of motorists and pedestrians if repair work is not completed before the fast-approaching monsoon season.

According to the Met office, the monsoon season in the city begins from June 15 and runs till August 15.

The dug-up roads include a track of the main University Road (from Jail traffic intersection to New Town and also from New Town to Edhi Centre), a major portion of I.I. Chundrigar Road, Sharah-i-Pakistan (from Aisha Manzil to Water Pump and up to Sohrab Goth), a portion of the main Clifton Road, an unnamed road starting from Yasinabad bridge to Aisha Manzil, a 5-km long track of Shahrah-i-Orangi (from Banaras Chowk to Raees Amrohvi Colony), one track of the main Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society Road (from SMCHS-Sharea Faisal traffic intersection to Allahwali Chowrangi), two lanes of the main University Road (from Bait-ul-Mukarram mosque to Hasan Square), a major portion of Tipu Sultan Road, (starting from the Shaheed-i-Millat-Tipu Sultan Road traffic intersection to Adamjee Nagar roundabout) and a portion of Sir Shah Suleman Road, near the Expo Centre.

Since one track of all the above-mentioned roads is dug up and the other tracks, in most cases, have been lying in a highly dilapidated condition, motorists taking these routes have already been experiencing great hardships. Their ordeal will only increase once the roads are flooded with rainwater in the upcoming monsoons.

During a visit to the main University Road, which is being rehabilitated at an estimated cost of Rs312.5 million, one could see that vehicular traffic was still plying on a major portion of the road (from Busy Bee restaurant to Jail traffic intersection),

although the road has become uneven and bumpy at many places with deep ditches and a number of open manholes.

Besides, open manholes and mounds of earth excavated from the dug-up portion of the road can be seen lying at various places, creating a dusty environment.

The most dangerous aspect of the under-construction track of University Road is that the traffic on it is being allowed to move in either direction by bifurcating it with ropes and placing heavy boulders in between the tracks. One can only wonder what would happen if the boulders became submerged in rainwater.

Work on the road, which is being reconstructed under the Tameer-i-Karachi Programme and the funding of which has to be provided by the PIA, often gets stalled owing to delays in releasing the required funds by the national carrier, sources in the city government claimed.

Moreover, one track of the road (from the Yasinabad Bridge to Aisha Manzil), which has three roundabouts in between, has been dug up. Since the remaining track of the road is being used by motorists going to and from Aisha Manzil and Yasinabad, traffic on this portion of the track often gets jammed or moves at a snail’s pace.

Similarly, the main Clifton Road has shrunk to two lanes as its other lanes often remain blocked owing to work on the Clifton storm-water drain, which is being carried out for flushing rainwater in to the Nehr-i-Khayyam.

Besides, a 5-km long track of Shahrah-i-Orangi is being used as a dual carriageway as its other track is closed for vehicular traffic due to the laying of a 24-inch diameter pipeline. But since the pipeline work has been delayed, motorists have no choice but to move in the opposite direction on its only open track. Resultantly, heavy traffic jams on this road have become a matter of routine.

A major portion of Tipu Sultan Road, which was dug up for laying some pipelines, has not yet been carpeted despite the lapse of more than three months since the completion of pipe-laying works.

The most horrifying thing to note on this portion of the road is that the parapet walls of an at least 8-foot wide open storm-water drain running along the road have also been demolished while undertaking the work.

The motorists taking this route apprehend that the drain will become a death-trap if its walls are not reconstructed prior to the rains.

Many citizens have expressed the concern that if the work on these under-construction arteries is not completed before the imminent monsoons season, pure havoc will ensue.