RAWALPINDI: People from rural areas and suburbs of Murree have asked the government to allocate special funds for maintenance and repair of broken and damaged link roads connecting rural areas with the city.

They have said that a remarkable increase in road mishaps has occurred due to these broken roads causing loss of lives and damage to vehicles. “Several people have lost their lives during the last few years in traffic accidents due to the pathetic condition of link roads,” they added.

The link road which connects more than five union councils of Murree besides suburbs was in dilapidated condition for almost three years. The link road was assembled in PML-N’s last tenure to connect areas like Potha, Sehar Bhagla Phagwari, Charyan road that lead to Murree Expressway .

According to locals, they had lodged complaints on the citizens’ complaint portal and a number of applications have also been submitted with the Punjab Highways department for repair of the route, but no action was taken.

The shabby condition of the road creates hardships for residents taking seriously ill or injured patients especially elderly persons to hospitals, said a resident of the area Zafar Javed.

“Large cracks appeared in the damaged portion of the road due to torrential rains a few years back during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and public representatives were approached for funds to repair the road. Our school going children were suffering massively due to the bad condition of the road. In the rainy season, patients have no option but to keep their children from going to school,” he said.

Another resident Rafiq Mahmood said that after continuous refusal of their applications, local people raised funds on self-help basis and started repair of the damaged road on their own.

However, due to heavy land sliding, huge funds were required and the government needs to contribute, he added.

An official of the highway department said that the funds for the damaged link road had to be released a few months ago before dissolution of the provincial government. During interim tenure, the provincial chapter in Punjab cannot release any funds for development purposes as per the rule.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023