Pothole-ridden roads irritate Pindiites

Even as the civic bodies go full throttle with their initiatives to make the city livable, the most irksome problem is poor road conditions. In spite of several repair measures, roads continue to be plagued with potholes. The city’s roads have countless potholes demanding repair.

Go to any area like Sadiqabad, Bohar Bazaar, Sarafa Bazaar, Kohati Bazaar, Kashmiri Bazaar, Ratta Amral, Ganjmandi, Asghar Mall, Saidpur, Pirwadhai, Khayaban-i-Sir Syed, Gawalmandi, Dhingi Kohi, the roads there have potholes and patches of an uneven surface at several points. Even Raja Zafarul Haq Road, Circular Road, Liaquat Road, Jinnah Road, Iqbal Road, Jamia Masjid Road, Farooq-i-Azam Road and Tipu Road have potholes.

“Commuting via the potholed roads has become a nightmare for people, who are risking their lives every day to reach their destinations,” says Hadi Naqvi, a resident of Dhoke Lilyaal.

Ammar Zaidi, a resident from Dhoke Sydedan says, “The area sees a lot of heavy vehicle traffic. It has become risky to drive through these roads after sunset. The entire stretch hardly has any light and vehicles driving in high beam add to the problems”.

“Potholes have become a major menace to life and limb, especially for two-wheelers. A pothole has developed by the edge of road divider near flying club at the turn towards Dhoke Hafiz, which led to injuries to a motorcycle rider yesterday,” says Yawar Mehdi from Dhoke Muhammad Khan.

“The civic body should initiate a maintenance project to improve road quality. It should launch a helpline number wherein citizens can call and report potholes and request immediate repairs,” says Moazzam Hussain.

“To improve road conditions, the civic body should inaugurate Road Safety Week with a vision to focus on road maintenance. As part of Road Safety Week, an important exercise to identify blackspots where frequent accidents happen should be undertaken,” says Baqir Sajjad.

“Maintenance of roads is a significant aspect of road safety. The officers concerned with road construction and maintenance should bear in mind that apart from constructing roads, it’s important that proper attention be given to their maintenance,” says Hammad Ali.

“However, the civic body promises do not inspire confidence among city residents. Recommendations by experts on how to repair and maintain roads should not gather dust. Roads become terrible if the contractor does not use the correct mixture in the right proportion. There should be accountability and punishment for poor quality work as a result of which potholes keep increasing every year,” adds Hammad Ali.

“If potholed roads are ruining your commute, learn to live with them, at least till the cash-strapped civic bodies can afford to carry out repairs,” Qamar Raza, a civic body official advised a complainant. With such an approach, Pindiites expect little to change on the city’s roads any time soon.