CHITRAL, Jan 21: The people of Chitral have expressed concern over the faulty survey and design of the Chitral bypass road which has been given many curves losing its very utility. Talking to here on Friday, the residents complained that the bypass road had many flaws in its design. A local trader Owais Ahmed said the road should have been straight as it passed through plain fields from Chew hillock to Chitral Gol. But he alleged that the officials of the communication and works (C&W) department and its executing agency deliberately gave the road many curves to save the lands and homes of certain influential people.

Maulana Afzal Al-Wakhani, a social worker, said the by-pass road was of prime importance for the people of Chitral. He pointed out that as the road would consume millions of rupees it should be constructed according to required standards.

Rahmat Jan, a taxi driver said that the volume of vehicular traffic was on rise in Chitral due to influx of non-custom paid vehicles from Afghanistan. But he complained that slow pace of work on the Chitral bypass road was disappointing. He alleged that nepotism and political influence had marred the whole project as the road had been given curves at number of places without any reason.

The executive engineer of C&W division, Chitral was not available when this reporter tried to know his version. Dawn

Meanwhile, sources confided to that the design drawn by the consultant firm of the project had been changed by the C&W department to favour certain people. They said that as per the original plan the two extreme points of the road were Chew Bridge and Polo ground, but it was changed to save the property of many influential people from being razed.