Takht Bhai flyover yet to be completed as another deadline expires

People suffer, rulers shift blame for delays

TAKHT BHAI: Yet another deadline has expired, but the long-delayed Takht Bhai flyover couldn’t be completed.

The people of the historic town and those passing through it towards the seven districts of Malakand division as well as some tribal areas and from there to the rest of the country continue to suffer.

Those at the helm of affairs are, however, busy in blame-game and shifting responsibilities to one another instead of focusing attention on early completion of the project, which is under-construction for nearly five long years while it should have been completed more than two years ago.

The project was an initiative of Awami National Party (ANP)-led coalition government. Former chief minister Ameer Haider Hoti had announced the one-kilometre long flyover in the town in November 2012 to overpass the railway crossing and thus overcome the longstanding issue of traffic hazard in the area. But instead of getting the issue resolved, it was made more complicated.

The snail’s pace construction work on the project, for which initially an amount of Rs4 billion had been allocated, made life miserable for the people going to and coming from the northern districts of the province and parts of Mardan district besides some tribal agencies like Bajaur.

The pain of those living or having business in the Takht Bhai town and its adjacent areas is several times higher. They have also been dealing with the unbearable dust, mud and pollution of all kinds besides traffic jams.

Apart from the dozens of shops demolished during the course of construction work, many shopkeepers alongside the road have to discontinue their business due to the multiple problems created by the prolonged construction work.

According to the initial design of the project, the flyover was one kilometre long, for which Rs4 billion were allocated and its expected completion time was August 2014. However, with the passage of time, the design was changed and cost was reduced but the stipulated time for its completion prolonged. Now the 500-meter flyover is under construction for which the funds were reduced to 1.2 billion.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, which is responsible for all the development and managerial works in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, simply fixed a banner on both sides of the flyover, stating that the project is the responsibility of National Highway Authority (NHA), which is a domain of the federal government and the provincial government should not be held responsible for its delay.

The NHA, on the other hand, didn’t even bother to explain its position and the causes of the delay. The people are, however, very much aware that the PTI government can’t be absolved of its responsibility.

They say it was the duty of the provincial government to provide relief to the people. It is a fact that the provincial government during the past three years of its rule has failed to complete the development projects launched by the previous government, let alone starting new ones anywhere in the province.

A few months ago, the National Assembly Standing Committee on communications under its chairman Sahibzada Tariqullah, who himself is a witness to the miseries of the people, directed the contractor to complete the project by August 1, 2016.

This deadline has also expired, but the bridge is yet to be completed. One thing which improved after the standing committee’s visit was that the roads on both sides of the flyover were blacktopped. This lessened the traffic problem to a great extent.