GUJRAT: Residents and traders have been facing severe problems for the last many years due to the dilapidated condition of the city’s commercial hub, the Jalalpur Jattan Road, as the road has been dug up for the third time in the past five years for laying a stormwater pipeline.

Hundreds of shops, several schools, colleges and residential areas are located on the affected 1.5km-long stretch of the Jalalpur Jattan Road from Kutchery Chowk to the Boley stormwater channel.

In January, a new scheme in which a 100-cusec pipeline was to be laid was launched by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz aimed at rectifying the sewerage and drainage problems of Gujrat city. For the purpose, the road remained closed to traffic for almost nine months, however, the project is yet to be completed.

Traders have suffered the brunt of these delays as they faced huge financial losses and some were compelled to shut their businesses. Jalalpur Jattan Traders’ Association President Sheikh Afzal demanded that the Punjab government take notice of the situation. He urged the government to issue funds for the ongoing schemes to protect the city from the chronic issue of urban flooding as well as the bad condition of the roads.

The traders and residents of Shadiwal Road are also facing a similar situation as a sewerage scheme was under construction in the area for the last couple of years.

Moreover, citizens have also complained that the delay in the completion of the ongoing drainage scheme and construction of a disposal station near the Zahoor Elahi Cricket Stadium at Kutchery Chowk is another source of inconvenience for motorists travelling between Gujrat and Jalalpur Jattan.

According to officials of the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), the ongoing work near the Kutchery Chowk had to be stopped around a couple of months ago due to the rainy season and the increase in the underground water levels. They claimed that the lack of funds for the ongoing schemes was also a reason for the delays.

When contacted, Gujrat Wasa Managing Director Kashan Hafeez Butt said that the work at Kutchery Chowk was expected to start in the next few days after the removal of a gas pipeline, which was creating hurdles in laying the pipes.

Similarly, he said, the work on the construction of a concrete road was also being started within a week from the Boley stormwater channel and the contractor had been given the green signal in this regard. Whereas, he said the Punjab government had also assured the agency that the remaining funds required for the ongoing drainage and sewerage schemes would be released within the current fiscal year.

He said the authorities were well aware of the problems being faced by local traders and residents and assured them that the construction of the Jalalpur Jattan Road would continue uninterrupted.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2026