RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) scheduled public meeting in front of Parliament House on November 30 forced Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) to ask contractors of Metro Bus Project to stop work for two days particularly at Package-V from Shaheed-i-Millat Road to Pakistan Secretariat.    

An RDA senior official told Dawn that the contractor had been asked to speed up work so that two-day holidays would not affect their work. He said the government had failed to communicate a clear policy whether or not it will allow the PTI meeting in Islamabad.

“If the government decides to stop the participants then the containers will also stop the trucks coming from Taxila and Rawat, carrying construction material,” he said.

He said contractors had been asked to make the arrangements to procure sufficient construction material before November 30 and start working 24/7. He said contractors wanted assurance for safety of their machinery and RDA assured that the police will protect the machinery in case of any untoward situation.

Commissioner Rawalpindi and Metro Bus Project Director Zahid Saeed said work will be closed for at least two days in the area which is close to the site of the public meeting.

He said progress on Package V of Metro Bus Project from Shaheed-i-Millat Road to Pakistan Secretariat was comparatively slow due to the political sit-ins in front of Parliament House.

He said that if the contractor is provided free movement then he would speed up the work to finish it within stipulated timeframe.

He said that work on the other packages is likely to be affected due to movement of the people in the twin cities. He said that the local administration and traffic police would make plans to divert traffic in case the public meeting is permitted.

Meanwhile, the project director on Wednesday visited the area of Metro Bus Project Package-IV from Centaurus to Shaheed-i-Millat Road and asked the contractor to remove hurdles from the roads where construction work has been completed.

During a visit to Faizabad and 6th Road in Rawalpindi, he asked the contractor to speed up work as the construction was slow. He also inspected work at Metro Bus Depot at H-9.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2014