CM inaugurates Mufti Mehmood Flyover

PESHAWAR: The much-awaited project of Mufti Mehmood Flyover in the provincial metropolis was finally completed and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak inaugurated it on Monday.
Work on the project was launched in August 2011. Almost three-kilometer long overhead bridge was supposed to be completed by December 2013, but it took nearly four long years for completion with a total cost of Rs13.487 billion that is almost double the initially estimated expenditure.
The project suffered delay for a number of reasons only to multiply the miseries of the people of the provincial metropolis. It had become a constant nuisance for the people as hours long traffic jams due had become order of the day.
Several contractors were changed for the project. The current government had set December 31, 2014 as final deadline for completion of the project, but that too failed. It had to cancel the contract and assigned it to another contractor.
The chief minister along with Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan and a number of government high-ups was having a broad smile on his face when he inaugurated the scheme.
The chief minister cut the tap to start traffic flow over the bridge.
Talking to media on the occasion, Pervez Khattak said the present government cancelled the contracts of the companies for the slow pace of work and those which they selected completed 30 percent of the remaining work on the project within six months.
The chief minister said the previous government had given no timeframe for completion of the project. But now the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government has decided to bound all the contractors to complete any project - building, road or bridge - within one year.
The chief minister said in view of the security concerns to the Central Prison Peshawar, the Peshawar High Court, and Provincial Assembly building fence would be erected on both sides of the flyover.
Pervez Khattak said Muhammad Rustam Kiyani Road near the prison would not be closed for traffic from now onward. He said that the completion of the flyover would help overcome the increasing traffic problems.
But this claim could not be materialised on the day one of the inauguration of the road as the road was closed for all kinds of traffic at 8pm right outside Cental Prison. However, from Bacha Khan Chowk side no indication of the road closure had been given that caused problems the people coming from that side as they had to take a wrong U-turn over the bridge to take another route for their destination.
Also, it was difficult for the drivers to understand the directions of the roads after the inauguration of the flyover. Even the project director had to say that it was a bit complicated to know the directions. But it would take some days and the people would then come to know about it, he said.
The roads on the ground at the Suri Pull, Charsadda Road and College Road wore the same poor condition even after the construction of the road.“Everything above the bridge that the chief minister inaugurated was alright. But on the ground the old road was in the same run-down condition,” complained Khushal Khan, a motor driver.