LAHORE, Nov 14: With a lot of work yet to be done, Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi opened The Mall underpass to traffic on Friday night.

“It will formally be inaugurated after 12 days,” the chief minister told newsmen. “Today’s is a soft opening.”

He said the underpass had been constructed in a stipulated time of three months with Rs180 million, against the initial estimate of Rs250 million.

Applauding the work done by the Communication and Works department in quick time, the chief minister said even a house could not be built in three months.

Though the underpass has been opened to traffic, heaps of earth and crush were there along the canal. Streetlights were also not fully functional.

C&W secretary Sabtain Fazle Aleem told Dawn that the earth would be removed with the passage of time whereas the lights would be functional soon.

To a question, he said the department had undertaken the environment impact assessment of the project (EIA).

Pervaiz Elahi said that work on the FC underpass and Ring Road projects would begin after Eid. These projects would be followed by more underpasses at Lal Bridge, Jinnah Bridge, Faisal Chowk, GPO and Lakshami Chowk.

The chief minister said that a judicial inquiry had been ordered into the Donga Bonga clash and action would be taken against those responsible in the light of the report.

Replying to a question, the chief minister said he had not so far received the report on law and order which was discussed by the Punjab governor at an Iftar earlier in the week.

He said that he had directed the police not to hesitate in registering cases as their performance would be evaluated on the basis of investigation.

According to APP, Minister for Communication and Works Zaheeruddin Khan said that the government had planned to start mega projects in busy cities such as Rawalpindi and Gujranwala during the current fiscal year.

He further said an underpass would also be constructed at Shaukat Khanum Hospital road on the canal.

Chief Secretary Hafeez Akhter Randhawa, Home Secretary Brig Ejaz Ahmed Shah, City District Nazim Mian Aamir and senior officials were also present on the occasion.

A large number of workers of the Pakistan Muslim League and representatives of women wing of the ruling party were also present.