PESHAWAR: While the commuters have yet to benefit from the Bus Rapid Transit project whose completion is nowhere in sight, the junkies and scavengers in Peshawar are having something of a bonanza cutting and selling the iron security fencing and enclosures meant to separate it from the rest of the road.

Workers attached with the construction companies blamed drug addicts and scavengers for vandalising iron fence erected on both sides of the under-construction BRT track.

The damage to the property on Reach-I (from Chamkani to Balahisar Fort) and Reach-III (from Aamen Chowk to Hayatabad) are very visible as thieves have cut the fence.

Officials of the Peshawar Development Authority, the project executing agency, said the complete pieces of iron fencing had disappeared at several locations on Reach-I.

PDA chief claims theft reported many times but police not registering cases

The police and PDA seem to have given a freehand to the perpetrators, who are able to take away materials during the broad daylight.

“The people come to the road after sunset, start damaging the fence and take away its pieces. Silence on part of the police has encouraged the people to cut fence during the daytime,” said Ismail, a supervisor of one of the construction companies.

Ismail, who belongs to Punjab, said workers had captured scavengers on many occasions and handed them over to the PDA staff to take action against them but burglars were still on the rampage.

The workers have begun repairing the destroyed stuff and have welded additional steel bars to make it more durable.

“We did not see decline in their activities and they are continuously cutting pieces from the fence,” he said.

A watchman said the power generator belonged to the construction company was stolen from the main University Road.

Protection of the 26 kilometers long fence on the BRT track and additional structures to be established as part of the project can become a challenging task for the company, transport department and PDA, too.

“The government will raise a special force for the protection of BRT properties if preventive measures are not initiated immediately,” said Waseem Akhtar, a retailer on the University Road.

PDA director general Israrul Haq said he was more concerned about the safety of buses to be run on the route after witnessing the condition of the iron fencing on the track.

He said currently, construction companies were responsible for the maintenance of project infrastructure for one year after its completion.

“It is very shameful the way people damage fence,” he said accusing the police of not cooperating with the construction companies to stop junkies and scavengers from cutting the fencing.

The official said the police was supposed to stop the people from damaging properties.

He said the situation on Reach-I was more pathetic, where armed gangs damaged the fence and took away its iron pieces.

Mr Haq said the PDA employees had reported some cases but the police involved them in legal technicalities instead of registering cases.

He said several people were taken to the respective police stations, but no action was taken.

The police despite regular patrolling on the route from Hayatabad to Chamkani is ignorant about destruction of the fencing at the hands of scavengers and junkies.

Ali Raza, an official of the Town Police Station, told Dawn that they had yet to receive a single complaint in that regard and would swing into action when a case was registered.

PROJECT COMPLETION: Uncertainty looms large over the completion of the Asian Development Bank-financed multibillion rupees project inaugurated in Oct 2017.

According to the original plan, the BRT buses were to ply the track in May 2018.

The government has changed the deadline for the project’s completion many times.

The frequent changes to the BRT design are not only delaying the project’s completion but it has also escalated its cost from Rs49 billion to Rs69 billion.

The Trans-Peshawar company, which will operate the BRT service after completion of the structure, has yet to import buses except bringing one prototype vehicle in April last.

Senior PDA officials said the frequent intervention of the investigative agencies, including National Accountability Bureau, also delayed the project’s completion.

They said five audits had so far been carried out on the project.

DG Israrul Haq said he was optimistic that the BRT was likely to be ready for inauguration in March.

“I am hopeful that the buses will start running on the track from March 23,” he said, adding that the track would be ready for test run of the buses in Jan.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2018