KOHAT, June 6: The damaged exhaust and lighting system of the 1.9-kilometre strategic Friendship Tunnel is making people travel through suffocating conditions and poor visibility since the January 30 suicide blast.

Though the authorities had closed the tunnel from May 3 to May 10 for repairs, sources said that only two bulbs and tiles were changed and the exhaust system was left in disrepair due to funds' shortage. During the eight-day closure, the traffic was diverted to the 11km perilous hilly track.

The tunnel was strategically located as it connected the south with the north of the country by ridding the traffic of passing through the dangerous and narrow hilly track, but the facility had become a bane for the travellers.

The sources said that in the absence of exhaust system, the tunnel remained filled with suffocating smoke emitted by thousands of trucks and other vehicles daily passing from it.

Besides, dozens of vehicles are allowed to enter at the same time after security checking from both sides and rush of traffic causes more smoke inside the tunnel.

An official told this correspondent on condition of anonymity that there were 10 huge exhaust fans installed by the Japanese firms, which constructed the Rs4.6 billion tunnel, to flush out smoke and bring intake of fresh air, but the present tunnel administration failed to properly manage the exhaust system.

The tunnel sustained huge damage in three suicide blasts claimed by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in 2008 to stop the transportation of arms and ammunition by security forces to Waziristan Agency. It remained closed for almost two years due to security reasons as the militants repeatedly threatened to blow it up if the transportation of arms was not stopped.

The general officer commanding of the IXth division of army, headquartered in Kohat, agreed to open it after meeting a jirga on November 10, 2010 especially to facilitate the returning Haj pilgrims from the Peshawar airport to the southern districts. In the start, the tunnel was kept open to traffic during daytime only, but later it became operational round the clock on the orders of the GOC.

The federal interior ministry deployed extra troops after a suicide blast on Jan 30, 2011 that killed five passengers and extensively damaged the tunnel's exhaust and lighting system. However, it was opened to traffic after two days.

But since then its exhaust and lighting system had remained completely shutdown while the contractor and the National Highway Authority were making fortunes from its toll tax.

An official said that the repair estimate of Rs30 million had been prepared several times, but no work had been done as yet. He said that the authorities had decided to repair the whole system in two more phases of 10 days each when the tunnel would be closed to traffic. He said that the authorities were expecting release of funds this month after which the repair work would be completed.