Residents demand construction of RR project on old alignment

Affected families threaten to surround commissioner’s office

RAWALPINDI:

Hundreds of families affected by the new alignment of Rawalpindi Ring Road have demanded construction of the project as per the old plan. They have also threatened to surround the Rawalpindi Commissioner Office if their demands were not met.

The core committee comprising those affected has endorsed the decision, and all families directly involved also attended the meeting. Core Committee Convener Abid Majid said the new alignment will make hundreds of families homeless, and they would be deprived of their valuable ancestral lands.

He said the Ring Road should be constructed, but as per previous plans. He added that the project was to be built from Banth Mor GT Road to Thelian Interchange, which would affect Mira Mohra, Dhaki Kalan, and several adjoining areas as well.

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Those affected threatened to surround the commissioner's office if their concerns about their valuable lands were not addressed.

They reiterated that the project should be constructed on the old alignment, or else there would be a large protest against the move.

They said that the old route was scarcely populated, and fewer people would be affected as a result. They added that the lands coming in the old alignment were mostly barren and unpopulated.

The core committee convener also said those affected by the old alignment had received compensation, and that they were not ready to return it either.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2021.