Jahangir Road deteriorates despite repairs

Even after millions of rupees spent on international-grade upgrade, open manholes continue to jeopardize road safety

KARACHI:

Jahangir Road, which was constructed two years ago under the supervision of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) according to international standards, has fallen into a severely dilapidated condition, with numerous potholes developing on both tracks of the road, causing severe traffic congestion on a daily basis.

An Express Tribune survey found that Jahangir Road's most serious problem concerned its unsafe footpaths, with 29 open manholes posing a risk to pedestrians. On the two-kilometre Teen Hatti-Gurumandir stretch, 26 manhole covers are missing, footpaths are broken, obstructed by utilities and garbage, while the return track has three uncovered manholes and no paved footpaths.

The road itself is also damaged, with potholes at 15 locations. Despite being built under American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standards at a cost of Rs220 million, the road has deteriorated rapidly, prompting the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to announce its reconstruction, raising questions over quality and oversight.

Martin Quarters resident Muhammad Taufiq stated that Jahangir Road was surrounded by densely populated areas and road construction was funded by the hard-earned money of the public. "Karachi's residents suffer during construction and continue to suffer afterward due to substandard work. Strict accountability of engineers involved in poor-quality construction is the need of the hour," said Taufiq, who urged the concerned authorities to immediately cover the open manholes before a serious accident occurred.

UC-5 Chairman Kaleem Usmani confirmed that Jahangir Road had been in disrepair for eight years despite repeated reconstructions due to substandard materials and corruption. "While the original 2003 road lasted nearly 15 years, later rebuilds failed quickly, with the latest KDA project collapsing within months, causing drainage failures and flooding across Jahangir Road, Martin Quarters and Clayton Quarters," said Usmani.

A KDA officer added that Jahangir Road started deteriorating within six months of reconstruction, prompting temporary carpeting to deflect criticism, even though damage persists. "The project was part of a Rs5.6 billion package, with Rs220 million allocated for Jahangir Road, while most potholes on Shahrah-e-Pakistan were only patchworked and not properly resurfaced," said the officer.

Reportedly, road reconstruction is a major, high-cost process under AASHTO standards, involving full removal and layered rebuilding of roads, unlike minor repairs that only resurface damaged areas. Despite being classified as a "long-life road," Jahangir Road failed due to poor design and substandard materials.

"In principle, all development works should be under the authority of the elected Mayor of Karachi. However, the Sindh government handed over mega projects to the Sindh Local Government Department to favor a specific lobby, appointing a special secretary who runs development affairs by deploying KDA engineers. The mayor has no role in these projects. Jahangir Road has now been taken over by KMC, and it will be reconstructed at a cost of Rs390 million," said a KMC officer, while speaking anonymously.

Regional Planner Dr Nawaz-ul-Huda stated that there was no accountability or check-and-balance system in place. "Neither KMC nor KDA has a proper quality control mechanism. Globally, post-project evaluation is conducted, but nothing of the sort happens here. Poor planning and substandard road materials are the two main reasons behind Jahangir Road's destruction," opined Dr Al-Huda.

Director General Technical Services KMC, Junaid Khan, informed that Jahangir Road will be reconstructed from scratch, especially the storm water drainage system. "The tendering process is underway and construction work will begin soon," said Khan.

The Express Tribune visited the office of KDA Chief Engineer Abdul Samad Jamalani to obtain KDA's stance but he was not present, and attempts to contact him by phone were also unsuccessful since he did not respond.