TAXILA: The recent rains have turned the Taxila-Wah section of G.T. Road into shambles as major cracks and potholes have appeared on it due to accumulation of rainwater.

The dilapidated road from Margalla Hills to Wah Garden bridge has become a nightmare for motorists as well as residents.

The Taxila section of the road is of great geo-strategic significance as its one end touches the federal capital and the the other is the gateway to northern areas.

“The shaky movement of long and heavily loaded vehicles carrying sand and stone crush as well as cement and factory goods on the bumpy road poses great threat to commuters,” said Syed Zaheer Shah Zaildar, a local social and public figure.

He criticised the NHA over poor maintenance of the road despite collecting large sums of toll tax.

“With so many potholes on the G.T. Road, travelling is not only problematic but dangerous too,” said a local transporter, Waheed Shah. He said motorists and transporters had demanded the re-surfacing of G.T. Road from Margalla Hills to Wah Garden bridge as the present condition of the road was costing them heavily in terms of wear and tear.

He said hundreds of light and heavy vehicles used G.T. Road in the region but it wasn’t maintained by the NHA, so it had developed potholes and cracks at several points.

According to Malik Nisar Khan, chairman Dumpers’ Association, said the poor condition of road was one of the major causes of accidents on the Taxila-Wah section.

There are potholes on the road. He said the government earned a huge sum in the shape of toll collection and money collected through weigh stations and traffic challan by the motorway police but the commuters were not being extended any relief, especially in the shape of better road structure.

Malik Saeed Siddiqui, a social and public figure, said that near Sarai Kala bridge, there was no proper drainage system and hence the drains got clogged and the rainwater accumulated on the road aggravated its condition.

He said that due to the poor road engineering and paucity of proper maintenance, many fatal accidents had occurred on the road.

When contacted, an official of the directorate of maintenance, National Highway Authority (NHA) Rawalpindi, said funds for the maintenance of the road had been allocated in the current fiscal year and work would begin after floating tenders and awarding the contract soon.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2022