Nightmare on the road: Fatal accident clogs Islamabad Expressway

Two killed; locals block highway for several hours, demand overhead bridges.

ISLAMABAD:

Two people were killed and three others injured at Gangal Bus Stop near Koral Chowk on Monday after a car hit them while trying to avoid a motorcyclist, the police said.

According to the police, a Honda car heading to Rawat from Faizabad lost control and ran over people standing at the bus stop, killing two men on the spot. The victims were identified as Sufyan, 18, and Aurangzaib, 36. The bodies and the injured were taken to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

PIMS spokesperson Dr Ayesha Ishani said that two people were dead on arrival while two of the three injured persons had minor wounds and were discharged after basic treatment. “The cause of death in both cases was head injuries,” she added.

Following the accident, locals came out to protest, saying that their year-old demand for an overhead bridge in the area remains unfulfilled. Traffic was blocked for over five hours, resulting in long queues. Ambulances and school vans were also seen stuck in traffic.

A protester, Bilal, said that around a year back, the CDA approved an overhead bridge in the area in response to frequent accidents in the area, but the bridge has yet to be built. He added that if there was a bridge, precious lives would have been saved.

Many of the people were angry after hearing rumours that the tender for the bridge was cancelled the same day (Monday) as the incident.

The police used teargas to disperse the protesters after talks failed and they refused to end their protest. Islamabad Rural Assistant Commissioner Amna Rafique, who was present at the site, said she needed “a few minutes to comment [on the shelling] as she was stuck” in the area. Later, she did not answer her phone.

Traffic flow had resumed by around 10pm and the roads seemed to be clearing.

Counterpoint

“Overhead bridges are not the solution,” said a CDA board member who asked not to be named. He said he was not aware if the tender had been cancelled. He instead revealed that the CDA was planning to make the road from Faizabad to Rawat ‘a signal-free corridor’ and that the contract will be awarded in December this year.

The member said the design would be finalised by the end of this month, adding that underpasses would be built in two sections. In section one, underpasses will be built from Zero Point to Koral, and in the second section, they will be built from Koral to Rawat. “There will be eight to 10 underpasses and an interchange will be built at Koral.” He added that services roads will also be made on both sides of the highway, as they were completely ‘forgotten’ when the highway was being built.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2014.