PESHAWAR, June 17: The NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah inaugurated the first phase of the reconstruction and improvement of GT Road project, costing Rs49.75 million near Chughulpura flyover on Monday.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, he said that with the completion of the project, traffic congestion on GT Road in the city limits would be reduced to a great extent.

The governor expressed concern over the mushroom growth of encroachments that have remained unchecked in the past. These encroachments, he said, have disrupted the entire system and the mechanism of future development.

He referred to shops, particularly the auto rickshaw workshops, saying that these workshops impeded the vehicular traffic as well as the pedestrian movement.

The representatives of Nespak and NLC briefed the participants about the GT Road widening and improvement project.

Others present at the ground-breaking ceremony were provincial ministers Imtiaz Hussain Gilani and Athar Minullah and Peshawar city district Nazim Azam Afridi.