KARACHI, March 26: Commuters on the Landhi-Korangi road are being punished for no sin of theirs. Their suffering is now years-long with no end in sight.

First it was the road that was in a bad shape and troubled the commuters. The narrow, potholed, ripped off road connived with the rash drivers in prompting numerous accidents. Many of these accidents were fatal.

On April 12, following an enduring outcry from the public, the then governor of Sindh Mohammedmian Soomro launched a project for the expansion of the 2.3-kilometre road between Hino Chowrangi at Qayyumabad and Korangi Crossing.

The project also envisaged the installation of streetlights, railings on both sides of the ramps over the embankments, a traffic island, lane markings, pedestrian crossings, traffic signs and guide maps.

The scheme was estimated to cost Rs47.39 million, of which Rs15 million was to be provided by the city government, Rs30 million by the provincial government and the rest by the Defence Housing Authority.

Work began on the project in fits and starts. It crept and crawled for several months till gravel was laid at the two ends.

Now, for the last two months there has been no work on the road at all. The road building machinery that kept the public hopes alive has also disappeared from the road. The authorities concerned refuse to divulge the reason for abandoning the project midway. But some people say the contractor has not received his due instalment of payment.

Meanwhile, people suffer as the row over payment lingers. The buses, minibuses and oil tankers running madly on the road raise clouds of dust, making unbearable the lives of those living around or doing their business.

The road between the two embankments of the Malir river was carpeted in parts soon after the recent flooding in the river. The flood water streaming over the road swept part of the already ripped up road. The city nazim visiting it after the flooding ordered its immediate carpeting. The cosmetic patches have begun to disintegrate.—N. A.