LAHORE, Sept 27: After six months or so, the Old Anarkali roads’ improvement and remodelling is still going on with no respite in sight because of a slow pace of work.

Digging of the Old Anarkali roads started in April this year to lay a stormwater drain from Napier Road to the PIA Planetarium near Chauburji Chowk through MaClagan, Nabha, Lake, and Crest roads. Closure of the thoroughfares has increased traffic volume on Mozang, Lodge, Lytton and Begum roads.

Vehicles move at a snail’s pace at Mozang Adda, Safanwala Chowk, Church and Bank roads intersections, especially during the rush hours.

Since the traffic load has shifted to Lodge Road (behind the Old Anarkali police station), Sonehri and Dhobi Mandi, Mashki Mohalla areas (adjacent to the Tourists’ Street), people living there face increased noise and pollution.

The digging has also disturbed the movement of visitors to and employees of the Lahore High Court, the GPO, the Income Tax Complex, some Civil Secretariat departments on Bank Road and the Capital City Police Offices.

The worst affected had been the visitors to the Hailey College of Banking and Finance and the University of Education on Crest Road that connects Jain Mandir with Lower Mall and Sanda Road.

Parents of the students of the Cathedral School on Church Road and the Lady MaClagan Girls High School on Lodge Road are also among the sufferers. They have to park their motorcycles and cars either at the parking lot of the Central Police Office on Bank Road or along the small park opposite the MAO College to pick and drop their children.

Owners of wagons and rickshaws, who pick and drop students at the two schools, also enumerate similar problems.

Officials of the Water and Sanitation Agency, which is executing the project, say different factors are delaying the project aimed at addressing drainage problems of the area.

Listing the factors that are to be blamed for the slow pace of work on the project, a senior officer of the Wasa says it had been very difficult for the labour to speedily carry out digging because of the presence of so many underground water and sewerage pipes besides telephone wires.

“The traffic volume on the roads is immense that hindered movement of trucks which removed earth or bring construction material. Police and other law-enforcement agencies also ask us to

stop work when some rally is held or in case of a VVIP movement on the Mall,” says the Wasa officer who wished not to be named. — Zaheer Mahmood Siddiqui