RAWALPINDI, Oct 13: The construction of Pirwadhai Mor underpass and flyover will start on Monday.

As a result, Peshawar Road will be closed for heavy traffic from Sunday (today). The heavy traffic will be diverted to Kashmir Highway from Tarnol while the two lanes of Peshawar Road will be used for light traffic. The formal foundation-laying ceremony for the project will be held after completion of the road’s Chur Chowk-Chairing Cross portion after Eidul Azha.

The Rs1.4 billion project will take four months for completion in two phases. In the first phase, the flyover will be constructed at Peshawar Road on the side where traffic is coming to Saddar from Peshawar. In the second phase, the underpass will be built to connect I.J. Principal Road with Peshawar Road.

“The National Logistic Cell (NLC) has already started the initial work,” said Brigadier Shahid Manzoor of the NLC while talking to Dawn.

MNA Malik Abrar Ahmed said the project had been launched but its formal inauguration would be performed by the chief minister soon.

The MNA also said the provincial government had provided a piece of land near Pirwadhai Mor to the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) for the development of a park. “The garrison authorities also gave the go-ahead for the park project near the army installation at Peshawar Road,” he said.

Rawalpindi Cantonment Executive Officer Rana Manzoor Ahmed Khan said the civic body had been asked to shift the utility services from the Peshawar Road project area. “We demanded Rs30 million for the purpose and the provincial government will soon release the funds,” he said.

He said they had also sought the details of the projects for shifting the main water supply lines coming from Khanpur Dam.

“There is a dire need to relocate the water supply lines before the start of the project otherwise it will slow down the work,” he said.

Meanwhile, the provincial government again failed to get the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report from the Punjab Environment Protection Agency (Punjab-Epa). “The provincial highway department contacted us on the phone for the report for the Pirwadhai Mor project but did not submit an application for it,” said Shaukat Hayat, the district officer (environment).

It may be mentioned that under Pakistan Environment Act’s section 12, the EIA report for such projects is mandatory.

However, the provincial government also violated the rules before launching the Chandani Chowk Flyover, 6th Road Flyover, Peshawar Road expansion and Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology projects.