Open drains drive Eid shoppers away in Peshawar

Local govt minister claims contractor has ignored work on University Road

PESHAWAR: With less than a fortnight to go before Eidul Fitr, people have started thronging the markets in the city. However, open drains and unattended sewerage flowing along the University Road has irked shoppers.

The excavation along the road is part of part of the road widening project for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system of the provincial government. As a result, a number of pipes and drains have been left uncovered as work has stalled for the last six months. Commuters particularly those visiting shopping markets located along the University Road have expressed their displeasure over difficulty they face while crossing the drains and the foul smell emanating from it.



Arsalan Ahmad, a resident of Hayatabad told The Express Tribune that the concerned departments had left the sewerage system open and unattended by the roadside.

“The open sewerage system causes inconvenience for commuters to park their vehicles,” said Ahmad, adding, “the excavated drainage pipes also create traffic congestion since most of the vehicles have to park along the road owing to impediments on the service road.”

Debris from the excavations for the projects left along the roadside has created problems for shoppers to move from one market to another.

Dr Shabir Khan, another resident, urged the government to complete the project as soon as possible.

Traders’ woes

Apart from visitors, traders who have to operate their business in the inhospitable environment, have also complained about its impact on their business.

They lamented that owing to debris from the stalled project and open drains, their sales have been declining, affecting their daily income.

A store manager of a famous brand told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity that they had witnessed a 30 per cent fall in the number of customers visiting their stores owing to the dug up drainage system.



He bemoaned that the government should have at least completed the projects before Ramazan or at least in the first week of the holy month so that customers could have shopped without facing any difficulty.

Contractors’ ignorance

Meanwhile, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Inayatullah Khan admitted to delays in completing development works along University Road.

He said that the contract for the project had been awarded to the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) but they had not taken the project seriously. “FWO is concentrating their attention on the Swat Expressway project, as a result of which they have left the university widening project incomplete,” Khan said.

“If the project is not completed in July, the project would be taken back from the contractor and penalty would be imposed for the delays,” Khan added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2017.