SUKKUR, May 12: A flyover connecting the New Pind with the city has not been completed despite passage of approximately 17 years.

Its foundation stone was laid by the then Federal Minister for Education Syed Khurshed Ahmad Shah back in 1995 during the second term of Benazir Bhutto government.

In 2002, however, MNA Khursheed Afghan of PML-Q again laid its foundation stone with a pledge that the construction of the proposed flyover would be carried out with a speed. But work on it could not be executed by the end of 2008.

In order to win over sympathies of the people of New Pind, the parliamentary secretary for railways Noman Shaikh and chief whip of Senate Islamuddin Shaikh had claimed in 2008 that the bridge would be completed by December 2009.

Both these dignitaries had, on their sojourns to the city, promised completion of the jinxed project by 2010 and 2011 respectively.

The flyover, according to people, was being used as a political slogan to win over sympathies of over 100,000 voters of New Pind and the adjoining areas.

Hundreds of shopkeepers of the busy markets under the flyover, besides thousands of pedestrians crossing the railway line, find the road almost in a dilapidated condition at several points. Sewerage lines passing under it have been choked and sewage could be seen gushing out from them.

The road under the flyover is one of the busiest arteries of Sukkur which connect Rohri with Shikarpur road and link Khairpur, Larkana, Shikarpur and Jacobabad with the bus terminal of Abad.

Throughout the day traffic jams could be witnessed with hundreds of vehicles trapped.

Chief of Sukkur Shehri Ittehad Maulana Ubaidullah Bhutto, told journalists that elected representatives of Sukkur do not feel the pain of their voters as they seldom visit their constituency.

He said that entire area near the under- construction flyover had been dug for detecting chocked drainage lines.

When contacted, the in-charge of the project and the Executive Engineer of provincial highway department Gul Shaikh blamed encroachments for delay in completion of the project.

He, however, was optimistic that the flyover would be completed by June 30 this year but avoided to answer a question regarding shortage of funds.