Lahore in monsoon: a commuter’s worst nightmare

Torrential rains have always been the signature feature of summers in Lahore and although the downpours relieve the citizens of scorching heat, the poor drainage system in the city makes life miserable, with roads inundated and people facing inconvenience getting around the city.
“I am waiting here since morning; my bike is clogged with water,” said Ahmed Mukhtar, a salesman standing on Zarrar Shaheed Road with his stationary bike. “All I can do now is regret my wasted day.”
Connecting south cantonment to Saddar and many other residential areas, the Zarrar Shaheed Road is an important artery in the area. Nevertheless, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has not paid any attention to its maintenance. “I guess it was my own fault choosing this place for business. No matter what, this road is always inundated in monsoon,” said a businessman.
“This road, despite stretching to far-flung areas, has been deprived of due attention. It is broken at places and has far more than its fair share of potholes!” exclaims Ali Khan, a distraught commuter. “However, the situation deteriorates further in monsoon and long queues of vehicles stay static on the road, simply because of the non-existence of a drainage system in this part of town. Exposed manholes spew out water and soon the road becomes flooded,” he added.
An official from Rescue 1122, who asked not to be named, told Pakistan Today that around 10,000 accidents had been dealt with in Lahore this year alone, and one-tenth of them had occurred on this road. “It takes no analyst to say that the ratio of road accidents increases twofold in the rainy season,” said Hina Butt, a graduation student who had to pay a garage bill of Rs 20,000 this week. “I can’t even blame the other party involved as crossing this lopsided road is a tremendous task. It is jagged at various places with broken bricks, pebbles and what-not in place of asphalt,” she added.
Amidst all this chaos, troubled road users are only looking towards recognition of this problem from their representatives in the Punjab Assembly, but they can rely on only some. One is Dr Samia Amjad (W-357) who, despite being not elected from this particular constituency, is deeply concerned about the matter. “Disruption of traffic flow is a serious problem and this results in people not being able to reach their destinations on time, creating grave financial consequences in our country where working capacity is already limited because of the insurgency prevalent here. However, despite our attempts to bring up this question for debate in the assembly, nothing much can be done as part of the road belongs to the Lahore Cantt Board,” said Amjad. “It’s not only a question of tattered concrete, the drainage pipe lain underneath is only 3 metres wide and such inadequate sewage is bound to result in hygiene problems. Often the pipes get clogged and ejaculate compost. This part of town is being used by the board as their unkempt courtyard and to our dismay, the board is not ready to heed our suggestions,” she added.
Another source told Pakistan Today that the Cantt Board had been offered Rs 10 million for the completion and maintenance of this project numerous times, but its refusal was not understandable.
Dr Ahsan, a medical practitioner, confirms Dr Samia’s concern that many water-borne diseases can and have spread in this area because of the poorly disposed of sewage.
Nonetheless, when contacted for verification, no helpful response was given by Lahore Cantonment Board officials, merely stating the fact that the board was only responsible for Lahore Road, which ended at Dubai Chowk.
The recently completed and much-acclaimed Ring Road project is also in the vicinity, but the funds designated for the project failed to make any improvement to this artery. Dr Samia explains this: “The funds assigned for one project cannot be intertwined with another. Despite this road acting as a ‘missing link’, no construction can occur with those funds.”
It is up to the provincial government to decide whether to persuade Cantt Board to take up the project or make some adjustments in the Ring Road legislation. Meanwhile, people here think of routes to avoid the waterlogged highway this monsoon.