Last year in July, the residents of Islamabad welcomed the news that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has announced a 5 billion rupees assistance package for revamping, re-carpeting and rehabilitation of the roads of capital. But later on, Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) reduced it to 1 billion due to shortage of funds. Many roads, service roads in particular, are in shambles as CDA has shown apathy and sheer indifference to maintenance. Every day many accidents take place due to broken, pothole-filled roads in capital.
The IJP road, lifeline for business and transport in twin cities and the one separating Islamabad and Rawalpindi, despite promises by previous and the current government has not seen any rehabilitation or re-carpeting. The continuous flow of heavy traffic that plies the road along with thousands of cars and bikes is in absolute shambles, the craters and potholes are even metre long and deep at some areas of the road. The regular users have witnessed many trucks and cars with broken axles standing still on the IJP road.
The political and bureaucratic elite of Islamabad have once again denied safe and well kept roads to the citiezens. The full-scale refurbishment of roads in posh sectors is being carried out while the service roads, link roads, and even main roads of humble neighbourhoods remain untouched.
ZKB was given the contract to rehabilitate the decayed roads of capital. Every day, one could witness that trucks filled with bitumen, rollers moving around, labourers levelling the surface, overseers taking measurements, next day the same people and machinery could be seen carpeting some other road of Islamabad.
The commuters of G and I sectors, localities of lower and middle class, have to ply the pothole filled roads as the roads in these sectors have barely even seen re-carpeting. The service roads of sector I-9, I-10, G-8, G-9, G-10, G-11 were completely neglected during the much-touted rehabilitation process of roads of Islamabad. Every day thousands of commuters going or coming from these sectors are at the mercy of roads where countless fissures and craters make for a perilous journey.
According to CDA’s list of completed projects 3460.00 million rupees have been spent on improving roads and drainage system of the capital, 240 million rupees spent on road signage works and lane-markings, 93 million on re-carpeting of roads and 73 million rupees are spent on improvement of footpaths.
One wonders why roads and pavements are in pitiable condition and there is no silver lining to all of it, if the civic entity is spending millions for the purpose.
Islamabad, as known and witnessed, is a highly stratified city. With every passing day the divide and class consciousness is increasing.
The expansion of Islamabad Expressway, as reported in Pakistan Today two months ago, is a multi-billion rupees behemoth to cater to half a dozen luxurious, private societies located in and around the highway.
“CDA has once again proved that it is an entity meant to safeguard the elite of the city alone. I live in G-11 and go to work in F-6 where I work in a garments shop. The potholes on service road G-11 jolt me to the bones while roads of F-6 are so smooth that my bike feels as if it is in air. I request the CDA high-ups to treat all sectors equally,” said Iftikhar Khan when asked about the condition of roads in the capital.
“CDA has given contract worth 88.4 million to ZKB for digging and carpeting of roads in sectors F-7, F-8, G-7 and G-6. Another contract of 20 million rupees has been awarded to a company named Kaarkun and it will carpet the roads of 1-9 and 1-10 in near future,” told DG Works Sajjad Zaidi while talking to Pakistan Today.
The discrimination committed by the CDA is not new. Even during the reign of Kamran Lashari, the bureaucrat famed for the ‘beautification’of Islamabad, sports centres, gyms and reading rooms, made in posh sectors have been keenly maintained while those in less affluent areas are broken and in poor condition.
The Margalla Road, connecting all the sectors of Islamabad near E-11 sector is in absolute ruins. The countless potholes dot the road, the traffic from Golra, D-12, F-11 and E-11 are at the mercy of this road where accidents related to axle take place regularly. The price of car maintenance has soared due to roads that have seen no maintenance work for many years.
Road maintenance is top priority for us at CDA. We are undertaking the repair work in phases, and we have given the contract for IJP road on which the work will begin soon. By the end of June all the roads of Islamabad will be in spick and span condition, said Ramzan Sajid, a spokesperson for the CDA