Hazara Expressway patch becomes 'death trap'

BATTAGRAM:

A section of the Hazara Expressway between Mansehra and Battagram has become a death trap for motorists and pedestrians owing to incomplete arrangements for safe travel.

The Hazara Expressway, a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), was opened for traffic around six years ago but travel is still considered insecure due to the non-construction of underpasses, flyovers, overhead bridges, and safety fences.

Overcrowding of pedestrians, motorbikes, rickshaws and tractor-trolleys indicate that the local administration has no writ as accidents have become a regular feature of the above-mentioned section of Hazara Express. Dozens of people have lost their lives and the majority among them are motorcyclists.

The rate of accidents has also been recorded as high. The underpasses, flyovers and small pedestrian bridges of the Hazara Expressway, which was opened for traffic in a hurry, have not yet been constructed.

The safety fencing has not been installed at several places along the thoroughfare and where it was installed, people have broken it and made paths in places, allowing cattle roaming around the highway.

The traffic flow is also severely affected by the crowding of pedestrians who are seen boarding and disembarking from local vehicles. Around 50 accidents have occurred on the Expressway between Mansehra and Thakot so far. More than forty people have been killed and dozens have been injured.

Locals fear that unless the Expressway's administration takes urgent steps to make the journey safe, accidents will continue to happen and precious lives will continue to be lost.