Ravaged road: Court calls NHA chairperson over condition of highway

Petitioner hold NHA, relevant officers responsible for accidents on highway.

SUKKUR:

The National Highway Authority (NHA) chairperson has been called to court on February 13 over the dilapidated condition of the National Highway near Mirpur Mathelo.

Over 40 people have lost their lives and around 200 others injured in accidents along a five-kilometre-long portion of the highway since August last year, petitioner Nasrullah Gadani submitted in the Sindh High Court’s Sukkur bench.

From Gangi bus stop to the Mirpur Mathelo SSP Office, the National Highway was dug up at several places to construct bridges over storm water drains, Yar Muhammad Jalbani, the plaintiff’s lawyer, told the court. The work began in August 2012 but no diversions were provided for heavy traffic, said Mirpur Mathelo resident, Gadani.

Holding the NHA and the relevant officers responsible for all accidents, the petitioner appealed to the court to order them to pay compensation to the families of the victims. On Tuesday, Justice Habibur Rehman Shaikh issued notices to the NHA’s chairperson, Sukkur general manager and Sukkur deputy director.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2013.