Residents of Mehak Town have expressed grave concern over the stalled renovation plan for the Kahuta Road from GT Road Swan Camp to Kak Pull.
The road in question is highly crowded as countless housing societies are located on either side of the road.
However, the authorities concerned are paying no heed to the excessively damaged road’s repair, said a group of locals.
The ruts in the road have become so deep that it has become impossible for vehicles to use the road, said Ghulam Ali, a factory worker.
A motorist said many accidents had also occurred on the road after vehicles overturned, injuring the passengers.
“Public transport vehicles do not run on this road and we are forced to hire taxis or walk to work daily,” said a labourer employed in a factory.
The five kilometer long Kahuta Road has become impassable.
Citizens demanded immediate renovation of the road to avert any untoward incident.
Choked gutters turn Westridge into filth depot: The lack of cleanliness and overflowing gutters in the areas of Westridge, People’s Colony and Dhok Syedan pose serious health hazards.
“Sanitary workers do not come here for months. The whole area has been turned into a filth depot. We clean our streets ourselves,” said Hashmat Ali, a Westridge resident. “The drains are overflowing with filthy water but no sanitation staff has been sent to the area to clean them,” said Ghulam Ali, a teacher from People’s Colony. A group of students from Dheri Hassan Abdal said the street in front of their school is flooded with filthy water due to choked gutters, restricting them from attending their classes. Tahli Mohri residents said they feared the spread of a Dengue epidemic.
Citizens demanded that the area be cleaned before any fatal epidemic erupted in the areas.
Restoration of water pipeline demanded: The termination of water supply to Kasai Galli and Raja Bazaar crockery market has added to the miseries of residents and traders of the area. A group of traders said the market was one of the oldest in the city that customers from far off areas came to shop there.
They added that a water pipeline was laid in the market and that the traders union paid its outstanding dues so that it would not be removed. Despite that, the municipal staff removed the pipeline. Residents said they were suffering from abdominal diseases after drinking contaminated water.
They demanded the immediate restoration of the water supply pipeline by the municipal administration.
Incidents of buffalo lifting increase manifold: Residents of Chatha Bakhtawar and surrounding areas have expressed grave concern over growing incidents of buffalo lifting from the buffalo sheds.
“This is hub of buffaloes’ breeding and a big market for supplying milk to all the areas of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. We have set up pens to breed buffaloes. But they have now become unsafe for our animals. Every nigh two or three buffaloes are lifted. We report the theft incident to police but no action is taken”, said Ghulam Sarwar, owner of a buffalo’s pen. One buffalo costs us Rs 70,000 to Rs 75,000 and we spend a lot of money on their upbringing and care. This is not only our source of income but also provide milk to the milk shops throughout twin cities. This way thousands of people are associated with this business, said Muhammad Jahangir, a milk man.
A gang of thieves most probably, Afghanis, is active in this area and they are behind the buffaloes lifting. Some time earlier a gang was caught by police and we sighed a sigh of relief. But it has again become operational and is lifting the buffaloes with impunity, therefore, stern police action is needed forthwith against the criminals, said a group of owners of pens.
