LAHORE, Sept 25: Delay in funds for construction and repair of roads has made Wagah Town a difficult place to live in or, even, pass through.

Town officials say the only reason for funds delay and the step-motherly treatment is that the town is being headed by Khalid Ghurki of the PPP, who was the only one to secure a seat for opposition in the nine towns of the city. Red tape and denial of basic facilities reportedly by the ruling party to the town is affecting all kinds of development work there.

The officials say the town requires funds for the construction and repair of roads and patch work on small arteries.

The town officials say undue intervention of the ruling PML in the town affairs has affected all development projects. Lately, they say, a project of laying an open drain along GT Road has been initiated at a cost of Rs30 million. They claim the project has been started because of a by-election to be held in the locality. On the other hand, they say, several small projects in villages in the town have been a victim of red tape.

The officials say not only the town nazim but the officials are being discriminated against. They say they have been deprived of a 15 per cent salary raise their colleagues got in the other towns.

Lack of repair has rendered the roads in the town unserviceable. Most of these roads have developed potholes and trenches. The roads in dire need of repair fall in five union councils of the town with areas surrounding Salamatpura and Mahmood Booti.

When contacted, Wagah Town Nazim Khalid Ghurki said the government had on his repeated initiatives asked him to prepare and submit the feasibility of the construction of the roads.

He said he had submitted that the town needed Rs100 million for the construction of roads. He said he made repeated attempts to get funds released, but to no avail. He said that he was being victimised by the ruling party because he belonged to opposition.

He said he had written to the Punjab chief minister on several occasions that the town was short of staff and that the existing town officials should be given a salary raise. He said no senior official liked to work in the town. He said he had also taken up the staff shortage issue with the Punjab government but to no avail.

Mr Ghurki said the government had not issued a single penny to the town last year for development work. He said it had sanctioned Rs60 million for the town this year. Getting monthly installments of the sanctioned amount is also a problem, he said. He said he had initiated some small projects in the town that too faced problems owing to red tape and discriminatory attitude on the part of the ruling party. —Asif Shahzad