Commuters and citizen continue to suffer as the project for renovation of the iconic MM Alam Road faces yet another delay, Pakistan Today has learnt. The project, which is being delayed for at least the fourth time, was to start in the last week of February according to an agreement reached between Lahore Development Authority and the Traders Association. The MM Alam Road has cracked opened at different places and is bumpy and uneven. The patchwork done by Traffic and Engineering Planning Agency (TEPA) last summer has also deteriorated under the massive traffic load.
The road starts from Mini Market Roundabout and ends at the Hussain Chowk Roundabout. The road is a 1.5 km patch stretching to 40 feet from side to side. This road contains hundreds of big and small outlets and food centres and is considered to be the icon of the city metropolis of Punjab. From big brand names to internationally renowned food centres all are present on this road. Reciprocally, the new tax policy ensures that a large amount of tax is also generated from these shops.
Under the renovation plan, the road was to be widened from 40 to 80 feet and a parking space was to be added on both sides of the road. Talking to Pakistan Today, Aroosa Malik, a student of A Levels, said this road represented the city. “MM Alam Road is the first place that comes to mind when my cousins visit from other cities,” she said, adding that the road was ‘perfect’ since it had shopping and eating centres. “No matter how hard we try to push the authorities, the road is not repaired. This new postponement is very discouraging, especially when we pay thousands of rupees in tax,” said Murad Ashraf, a businessman who has a shop on the road.
MM Alam Road Traders Association President Mian Saleem said “We have been extending our full cooperation to the authorities who are just not interested.” When contacted, LDA officials refused to comment on the issue.
