The Murree-Kohala road receives most of the traffic between Rawalpindi and AJK. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Residents of Murree and surrounding areas have demanded rehabilitation of the Murree-Kohala road.
They said the road, a major link between Rawalpindi-Islamabad and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), was in dilapidated condition due to neglect of the provincial authorities.
The road also has a strategic importance as army convoys use this artery to move between AJK and Rawalpindi.
The area is a stronghold of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Minister for Petroleum Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Punjab Minister for Labour and Manpower Raja Ashfaq Sarwar both hail from this area.
Residents, however, complained that the party had turned a blind eye towards local issues.
“Despite several requests, the two ministers are not showing any interest to resolve this issue,” said Mohammad Asad, a local of Aliot.
Taxi drivers have also increased fares due to poor condition of the road. “Taxi drivers who earlier used to charge Rs250 from Lower Topa to Aliot are now charging Rs500 to Rs600,” said Asad.
People of Sehr Bagla, Aliot, Phagwari, Dewal, Julial, Birote and Basian and dozens of other towns are dependent on the road to reach Murree and Rawalpindi.
Arshad Abbasi, who commutes daily from Phagwari to Murree, said he often got stuck in traffic jams, particularly in Phagwari and Aliot bazaars.
Residents urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take notice of the poor condition of the road and direct authorities to carry out repair work.
“The government has spent billions on the metro bus project in Islamabad and Rawalpindi but is ignoring the rural areas,” said Asif Abbasi, who is president of Insaf Students Federation in Murree tehsil.
Abbasi said they would also organise protests to press for their demand.
PML-N Murree president Daftar Abbasi said rehabilitation work would soon be undertaken. “I agree the road is in dilapidated condition but let me assure you that we are seriously working to get the repair work started as soon as possible,” he said.
Punjab Highway Department Executive Engineer Mohammad Shafique said repair work could not be undertaken due to shortage of funds. “Last year, we sought Rs1 billion from the government to rehabilitate the entire road from Murree to Kohala but our request was turned down,” he said. He said the last time the road was fully repaired was in 1990.
The federal government has also announced to extend the Murree Expressway to Kohala and then Muzaffarabad. The National Highway Authority (NHA) had announced in December 2014 to complete the feasibility study in four months. No progress has been made ever since.
Residents also demanded that the government start work on the Expressway expansion project at the earliest.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2015.
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