KARACHI, Aug 10: Contrary to the claim by relevant authorities to have smoothen all the roads leading to the Zoological Garden by getting potholes and ditches filled, almost all these roads as well as those in the adjoining localities, are in a dilapidated condition causing immense hardship to the people, especially the zoo visitors.

Sir Aga Khan-III Road and the artery between Garden signals and Makki Masjid have developed wide potholes and craters in which sewage from the adjacent localities has accumulated, aggravating the situation.

The Aga Khan-III Road, in front of the gymkhana, has completely been submerged and rendered useless for commuters and pedestrians. More affected are the vehicles coming from Golimar and Patel Para enroute Saddar and other towns.

This road was already in a poor condition but the recent downpour destroyed it completely. Similar is the condition of the road from the main gate of the zoo and leading to the Shoe Market.

The situation of traffic flow and walk through turns miserable during rush hours when the roads are crowded with vehicles coming from downtown. Normally, women and children are seen stranded on either side of the roads failing to get a chance to cross them. Pedestrians walking along the roadside also risk accident during the peak hours.

The worst-hit are the people intending to visit the zoo as they have to go through the miseries of reaching the zoo gates from any side.

Another visitor, a lady teacher who was leading a group of her school’s students, expressed her anguish over the dilapidated condition of the roads. She said: “As soon as we arrived near the zoo, all of us found ourselves in trouble. All of us were anxious about their tidiness as passing vehicles were constantly spraying stinking water and mud at their side. Furthermore, the children were vulnerable to speeding vehicles trying to overtake eachother in order to get out of the traffic mess. Yet another threat was invisible craters and manholes covered with accumulated sewage.”

The zoo administration strongly criticized the concerned authorities for turning a blind eye towards the conditions which had led to a sharp decline in the number of zoo visitors. —PPI