Whose road is it?

When the chief minister of Punjab ordered to widen Multan Road – starting from Thokar Niazbeg to Hudiara Drain – into eight lanes, commuters had a sigh of relief. But the businesses and industries located on the 10.7km stretch of the road under extension think differently. This is because soon after the announcement the maintenance wing of the NHA started issuing notices to various industrial and commercial units to apply for NOC for using the road, which NHA claims is its right of way (ROW). NHA logic of ROW is outrageously illogical if not hilarious.

The industries situated on this portion of road are decades old when the NHA hadn’t even arrived in this area. Now suddenly the NHA demands of the industries to apply for permission to use the road and pay heavy sum for it. Public excitement about extension of road into eight lanes has dampened, thanks to the NHA’s irrational demands. As it is, industrial growth or setting up of new industries has remained at a standstill for the last many years. And whatever the industrial units, located on the 10.7km stretch of road, were churning out is imperilled by the visionless attitude of the NHA. Hundreds of industries on the site of extension request the chief minister of Punjab to look into the matter.

Iftekhar A Khan ( Lahore )