Nation’s pride?: Labourers’ camp to be set up on parade ground

Shelters and depots will house workers and material for metro bus project.

ISLAMABAD:

Land once earmarked for Pakistan Day parades and industrial exhibitions will be home to temporary shelters for construction workers and depots for the metro bus project.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has allowed the establishment of a temporary labourers’ camp to store construction material and temporary shelters at Exhibition Road, commonly known as Parade Ground near Shakarparian.

In 2007, thousands of trees were felled in the one square kilometre swathe along the Islamabad Highway, stretching between Garden Avenue and Faizabad to host the parade. The project cost Rs500 million and the federal government had promised to finance it under the Public Sector Development Programme.



The project was supposed to be completed by March 23, 2008, but it was abandoned, mainly due to security issues and funding constraints. A road was constructed at the site with initial funding.

According to the project’s plan, the parade ground was supposed to accommodate all the participating troops, march-pasts and drive-pasts in phase I. In the second phase, seating for 37,000 spectators and a parking lot to accommodate 10,000 cars were to be constructed.

It’s a low-traffic area, which makes it suitable for storing construction material, said a CDA official. Earlier, during the construction of Zero Point Interchange, a laborers’ camp had been set up at the site.

CDA Engineering Member Sanaullah Aman said, in 2007, the federal government ordered the establishment of a permanent site for the annul Pakistan Day parade and industrial exhibitions.

“CDA had earmarked the site, but the government late stopped funds for the parade ground. Consequently, CDA abandoned the project,” Aman said.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2014.