KOHAT: Owing to delay in construction of a second tunnel, which was due in 2011 as recommended by the Japanese construction company at the time of opening of the first one in 2003, the traffic rush and black smoke have made the almost two kilometers journey inside the Kohat Friendship Tunnel a perilous task for thousands of commuters using it daily.

The plan from the beginning was to make one-way traffic in the tunnel after 2011, keeping in view the expected traffic rush.

The tunnel now looks like a black cavity despite hundreds of lights installed inside it due to no check on smoke-emitting trucks.

Poor exhaust system makes breathing difficult inside the tunnel, commuters complain

The smoke makes breathing difficult, the commuters complained.

As there is no staff at the weighing machine, the overloaded trucks enter the tunnel without any hindrance, emitting black dense smoke.

The outdated exhaust fans are unable to clear the tunnel of the smoke, which reduces the visibility and causes frequent accidents.

The tunnel was designed to accommodate 14,000 vehicles a day, but after three years since its construction in 2003, the limit doubled and is increasing.

An official told Dawn on condition of anonymity that the tunnel was constructed at a cost of Rs6 billion, and if the second tunnel was constructed it would now cost Rs10 billion due to cost escalation.

He said the National Highway Authority was unable to construct the second tunnel. He said Japanese engineers had marked the spot on the mountain between Kohat and Darra Adamkhel adjacent to the first tunnel on its right flank twice during the last four years, last time being in 2018, for construction of the second tunnel.

But, the official said the Japanese government had called them back due to volatile security situation in the region.

He recalled that the Japanese engineers had also stopped work on the first tunnel and went back to their country as asked by their government following the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 as Kohat came within the 100 air square kilometres radius of Afghanistan.

FARMERS SEEK WHEAT SEED: The farmers of rain-fed areas have expressed concern over unusual delay in release of wheat seed by the agriculture department.

They regretted that after two to three days their lands would again become hard, leaving them unable to sow the seed.

President of model farms, Iftikhar Hussain, chairing a meeting of the farmers on Tuesday, said after the recent spell of rains their arid land had become moist and ready for cultivation. But, he said despite their appeals the agriculture department was not providing them with wheat seed. He said farming was sole source of earning in the region, therefore, the department should immediately release wheat seed to farmers.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2019