Sensory depravation: In G-9, backbreaking roads and leaky sewage lines welcome shoppers

Encroachments, drainage, lighting in markets among issues here.

ISLAMABAD:

Dilapidated roads, poor drainage and sewage and illegal encroachments in Nishtar Market in Sector G-9/4 are just some of the daily headaches for people who live or even pass by the area. This plethora of problems is a constant due to the negligence of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

The potholed road leading to Nishtar Market offers clear proof of the apathetic attitude of the CDA. Due to lack of maintenance, the road resembles those in far-flung villages --- sections have caved in due to standing water. It was repaired last some 15 years back, despite several appeals by shopkeepers and residents.

Lack of proper drainage is responsible for the state of the road, said a local resident, adding that the clogged drains regularly flood over. The situation is a pain for commuters and leaves a foul taste in the mouths of passersby.

There are a number of caterers in the market, nearly all of whom leave their cooking equipment including cauldrons outside the shops or along the road, creating artificial bottlenecks and traffic jams. Incidentally, some shopkeepers are illegally occupying land owned by government departments including PIA, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The CDA is well-aware of the situation, but seems to have given the local traders a free hand.

Muhammad Ali, a local resident, told The Express Tribune that the shopkeepers have laid illegal water and power lines under the road to provide connections to shops on the other side. He believes that the illegal roadwork is a contributing factor to the flooding. In addition, no less than three mosques have been constructed on this road, two of which are on encroached land and thus illegal.

Muhammad Majeed, a tailor, said that two mosques have been built on land owned by government departments and identified the site of Jamia Masjid Makki as FIA land, while adding that Jamia Masjid Anwar-e-Mustafa is built on CDA land.

Nishtar Market Traders Union President Nisar Ahmad Langa was critical of the CDA’s role in the condition of the market, explaining that development projects and roadwork were never started despite having been “approved on paper”.

“The authorities make promises that they never fulfil.” He said roadwork was started during the last government’s tenure, but the contractor abandoned the project without completing it. The 32-year-old sewage system has added to the complication. Moreover, there is not even a single functional toilet for the market which comprises of 650 shops, he added.

He claimed that the CDA had not even bothered to install streetlights in the area, explaining that the 1,200 tubelights placed around the market were put up by shopkeepers to check rising crime.

CDA spokesperson Asim Khitchi said he was unaware of the condition of the road in Nishtar Market, however, he had some potentially good news, as the CDA was planning to install a water filtration plant in the area. He added that the CDA would soon launch a drive against encroachments.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2014.