THE path from G. T. Road to Tarbela dam is perpetually in a state of disrepair. This road not only leads to the dam, which is the major source of power generation in the country, it is a gateway to Haripur and Swabi in Mardan district.

Moreover, all vehicular movement to the prestigious Ghulam Ishaq Khan University of Science and Technology (GIKI) also takes place on this road. The main problem here is that numerous causeways that exist on this road to accommodate run of water remain pitted round the year.

Since I am a frequent traveller to Tarbela I can safely vouch that this narrow road with heavy traffic is one of the most hazardous to travel on.

The road feeding the largest water dam, which is the pride of the country, should have had at least four lanes to accommodate the pressure of the long-body vehicles as well as light vehicles.

In some cases, government policy is most lopsided, and G. T. Road to Tarbela is one such traffic artery that has remained ignored for years. The road used for transporting materials for the maintenance of the dam should have been a wide and well maintained thoroughfare instead of a picture of neglect.

Tariq Khan

Lahore

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2019