Rawalpindi roads throw life out of gear

Rawalpindi : The residents of various areas of the city like Asghar Mall Road, Saidpur Road, Sadiqabad Road, Kashmiri Bazaar Road, Liaquat Road, are facing many problems due to bad roads. The state of the roads has been bad for a long time and they have no option but to endure bumpy rides whenever they come out of their localities.

Many portions of city roads have caved in due to negligence of the city authorities. It is nothing short of a roller coaster ride for commuters driving on such parts of roads. Becoming unsafe for the people to drive, they are giving nightmares to the residents and commuters because of potholes and cracks. This is indeed shocking. While there are so many agencies working on different aspects of infrastructure maintenance, nobody has bothered to repair it.

This time the monsoon came with many challenges as the situation of roads became worse and the water flowing over the potholes made it more difficult for the commuters to discover the depth of the potholes. Every year the city leaders allocate millions of rupees for the repair and reconstruction of roads, but there is no sign of repair work.

In many places, one can see the construction of footpaths over drains. These footpaths are located in front of the posh localities including several high-rise buildings. Slabs put over the drains, are missing exposing pedestrians to imminent danger. The drain cover adjacent to a footpath in front of an auto workshop of Faisal Avenue is also missing.

There is one more open manhole in front of the PIA Medical Clinic. It is inviting any untoward incident as anyone can easily fall into it. The level of the open drain and the road is almost the same. After dark, it becomes a more serious issue for the nearby inhabitants. Due to such bad shape of the road with open drains, they avoid going out for a walk after dark.

Shehr Bano, a resident of Tipu Road says, “The drains are telling the truth of callousness by the concerned authorities. Some nearby residents cover the manholes with bushes and dry horticulture waste, making the situation even more dangerous. She appealed to the civic bodies to cover the open drains properly. I do not understand why they do not take the issue seriously and do it soon.”

Shabbir Hasan from Iqbal Road says, “Uncovered drains or fractured drain covers in different locations of the city have become a nightmare for commuters as well as for pedestrians. It is very dangerous as there is no streetlight as well.” “With most drains not being cleaned for a year or more now, most of these channels are full of silt and garbage too. It can bring lots of in-borne diseases,” adds Shabbir.