PHC reserves verdict in petition against BRT project

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday reserved verdict in a writ petition filed against Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project after three days continuous hearing and detailed arguments on every aspect and questions raised by the petitioners.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Syed Afsar Shah reserved decision in the writ petition and applications in pro and against the mega project of Bus Rapid Transit by the PTI-led provincial government in Peshawar.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General Abdul Latif Yousafzai also continued his arguments on the third day and stated before the bench that he had submitted copy of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project contract with the construction companies, traffic plan and notice of Section-4 for acquiring land for the project. He submitted that it was for the first time in province's history that civil work on the project is running very fast. He said that an international standard heavy machinery had been used in the BRT project by the contractors. He said that the work was continued on the project day and night in shifts.
However, there will be some traffic problems while completing project in such a congested and populated city, he added.
SP Traffic Muhammad Riaz appeared before the court and explained traffic plan for the project to avoid traffic problems in the city He said that the traffic rush in the city was on GT Road and under the traffic plan the number of traffic wardens were increased on the GT Road and special numbers are also introduced for citizen to know about the alternate routes are being used after commencement of work on the project.
Through the helpline numbers, he said, the citizens can also know about the traffic situation on roads and can know about information about traffic rush or situation before using the roads.
Senior lawyer Khursheed Khan, who had also become party in the case, hailed the BRT project and said the completion of this mega project would not only resolve the longstanding demand of citizens to have international level public transport in the city, but will also resolve the issue of traffic mess.
However, he gave suggestions for improving the traffic problem during BRT project. The bench after hearing arguments from all the parties reserved the verdict. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Maulana Amanullah Haqqani and an environmentalist Abid Zarif had filed the petition against the project.