RAWALPINDI: Commissioner Zahid Saeed on Sunday directed the contractors of metro bus project, especially the army-led National Logistics Cell (NLC), to complete the work by the end of April.

In Rawalpindi, the contractors of Package-I (from Saddar to Committee Chowk) and Package-III (from 6th Road to Faizabad) completed the asphalt work on Murree Road but the NLC started the process on Saturday. It would take two weeks to finish the work from Committee Chowk to 6th Road.

The residents of the areas along the road criticised the slow pace of work and asked the provincial government to direct the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) to complete the project as soon as possible.

“It is difficult for the residents to use the road on private vehicles. Every day I have to go to Chandni Chowk from my residence at Amarpura to catch a public transport to Zero Point,” said Sadia Arshad, an employee of a private company based in Islamabad.

She said the dust and poor condition of the roads had been creating problems for the commuters for the last one year. She said she was suffering from dust allergy and had to use a mask.

Official says construction of bus stations at Waris Khan, Rehmanabad and Faizabad in Rawalpindi will take about three weeks

Naseer Khan, a resident of Murree Road in front of the Benazir Bhutto Hospital, said the road was not worthy of travel and he was forced to use different streets to reach his shop at Aabpara. He said his car frequently developed faults due to the poor condition of the roads.

Local MPA Arif Abbasi, who belonged to the PTI, told Dawn that the slow pace of work on the project was creating problems for the residents and the commuters.

“The RDA, local administration and the provincial government are apparently working to give benefit to the contractors who are delaying the project to increase its cost.

There is no mechanism for quality check as one can see the substandard construction of the bus stations, Murree Road and the elevated metro bus track,” he said.

Talking to Dawn, the commissioner, who is also the director of Metro Bus Project, said he visited the construction work from Faizabad to Saddar and asked the contractor of Package-II (Committee Chowk to 6th Road) to speed up the work.

He said work on the bus stations at Marrir Chowk and Committee Chowk would be completed by the next week. However, he admitted that the construction of bus stations at Waris Khan, Rehmanabad and Faizabad would take two to three weeks.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play