FAISALABAD: The construction work of the Millad Road started at a cost Rs135 million a couple of days ago allegedly without proper planning as the district government allowed the contractor to lay the road without removing the already existing asphalt surface.

PML-N MNA Haji Akram Ansari and ex-MPA Khwaja Islam inaugurated the construction work. However, the denizens of the adjacent colonies, namely Qaimpura, Razabad, Awami Colony, Gulshan Colony and Raja Colony, are not happy with the construction plan as the road level would rise further, creating multiple problems for the localities.

Shahzad of Awami Colony says rise in road level would damage precious properties of the people living along it. He said the method of construction being adopted by the contractor would compromise the quality of the work as the focus was only on laying the stone rather than ensuring quality.

Saeed Ahmed, another resident, said that during the rain people could hardly reach their homes as the road level was already high and streets were low which led to accumulation of water there.

The situation would worsen now as the level of the road would further increase by five to six inches. He said the cold milling could save the properties of the masses. An engineer, requesting anonymity, told Dawn it was duty of the engineers to visit the area first and ascertain the situation of the localities before planning the construction work.

He said we used to raise the level of a road only if there were greenbelts on its both sides. However, he said, the Millad Road had colonies on both sides, leaving no room for engineers to raise the road level.

The engineer said the government should immediately intervene as the contractor had not completed even half portion of the road yet. A probe into the issue must be initiated to check how and why public interest was being ignored, he added.

District Coordination Officer Salman Ghani said he would look into the issue.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2016