MIANWALI: A mega project of dualization of Mianwali-Sargodha road that started in 2023 and was scheduled to be completed within a year is facing a delay due to multiple hurdles, especially one posed by a Punjab Patrol Police check post.

The contract of 60.3km road was divided into groups and the contract for group IV for 22.5km starting from the boundary of district Mianwali till district Khushab worth Rs2.8bn was awarded to a company.

At the start, the work was delayed due to unprofessional attitude of the officials of railways, forest and Wapda departments who caused the delay despite receiving advance payments from the highways department for removing their installations along the road. As soon as the work was on its way, the government changed and the new setup stopped release of the funds, halting the project. The delay created hurdles to the transport plying on this route and many accidents took place on this incomplete broken road. The stoppage of work caused a huge loss to national exchequer as well because the contractors legally claimed rising prices of the material. Now the present government has allocated funds and work has started after the lapse of more than a year and most of the dualization work has been completed except some places.

A similar hurdle was created by Punjab Highway Patrol and a 200 meter long portion in front of patrolling check post Bandyial could not be completed.

The reason about this delay as told to this scribe by Mohammad Nadeem, the manager of the contractor, is that the patrol police check post at Bandyial stopped the work and issued threats of dire consequences, followed by a demand to construct a high boundary walls around the check post for its ‘security’. The contractor refused to accept the police demand as it was not included in the contract and advised them to approach the highways department. The matter is still unresolved but the delay is causing troubles to the travelers as well as accidents on this portion of the road despite the fact that dualization on its both sides had been completed.

When contacted, Punjab Patrol Police DSP Abdul Rehman told Dawn that dualization of road had increased its height in front of the check post and created security threats, that’s why the heights of its surrounding walls needed to be increased for its security. He said the matter was with high-ups of the police department who would decide the fate of the road construction project and until their decision the police would not allow the contractor to continue work.

It is learnt from the sources in the highways department that the matter would be resolved soon as the department is thinking of making payment for raising the walls of the check post just to complete a road project which has already been delayed.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2025