MINGORA: Most roads of Mingora city are in bad shape for stressing out their users, especially those rushing to Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital for treatment in emergency.

The local administration blames poor budgetary allocations by the provincial government for the dilapidated condition of roads.

According to Swat Deputy Commissioner Imtiaz Hussain Shah, Rs5 million was approved for maintenance and repairs of Mingora roads in the budget of the current fiscal year.

He said damaged roads in Matta tehsil of Swat district would be repaired at a cost of Rs5 million.

Local residents complain roads are dug up by different government departments, including Sui Northern Gas Pipelines, for development schemes but they’re not patched up by and large.

President of All Swat Rickshaw Association, Swat Ibrahim Khankhel said most Mingora roads were built when Swat was a state and that they were designed for limited number of vehicles.

He, however, said the roads were in bad shape due to poor maintenance and increase in vehicular traffic.

Mr Khankhel said roads should be widened enough to ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic.

He said the ‘illegal’ construction of big markets and plazas in the city had added to the misery of road users in the city.

The All Swat Rickshaw Association president said it was mandatory for market and plaza owners to provide visitors with separate parking facility but violation of law in this respect had caused traffic jams and thus, contributing to dilapidation of roads.He said flow of traffic on narrow roads, which were in deplorable condition, was easily manageable.

Mr Khankhel said most Mingora roads were built without proper planning and once they’re built, they’re destroyed for the laying of telephone and electricity cables, gas and water pipes, and sewers, to their destruction.

Driver of a public transport vehicle Taj Khan said motorists had a bumpy ride on local roads, which were pitted with potholes.

He said the motorists’ misery increased when they had to use dilapidated and messy roads for shifting patients needing emergency care to Saidu Group of Teaching Hospital.

He demanded early repairs of the roads besides the widening of the narrow ones.