THE zero point interchange is a cloverleaf interchange built on the intersection of Islamabad highway, Kashmir highway and Khyaban-i-Suhrawardy.

The total cost of construction for this huge civil engineering project was Rs4 billion in 2011. Since its inauguration in July 2011, many cracks and fissures have appeared in it. Two particularly apparent cracks are one at Kashmir highway to Faisal Mosque loop and other at Faisal mosque to Kashmir highway loop.

This interchange is a typical example of our rotten state of affairs. Is it not a pity that a structure built to last 50 years and beyond seems to crumble in four to five years?

One more dark point of this interchange is its environmental impact. If someone stands on it and peeps down, it offers a barren and desolate view. The reason hundreds of trees were chopped down to make way for this structure. There is ample space around the many loops of this interchange to replant trees. But no one has paid attention to the matter.

Muhammad Ashtar

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2015

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