PESHAWAR: Cracks have appeared in the recently constructed Bab-e-Peshawar flyover near Hayatabad phase-3 chowk in Peshawar, which poses a serious threat to the lives and well-being of the citizens.
The flyover was constructed with an estimated cost of Rs 1.5 billion in 2016 in record time and the recent cracks in the structure have raised many questions over the standard of construction material used in the project.
Opposition political parties and Hayatabad Residents Society office-bearers, while criticising the provincial government, said that the flyover was completed in a minimum time for political gains, adding that billions of rupees of public money was wasted for no good reason.
Hayatabad Residents Society President Nawab Khattak said that people of the city were deprived of the fruits of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project as the flyover had consumed most of the provincial funds. “The flyover, instead of easing the traffic load, has multiplied traffic problems,” he said, adding that BRT would enter Hayatabad through different directions but the construction of the flyover had created traffic problems for residents of the locality.
He appealed to the National Accountability Bureau director general and other accountability institutions to launch an inquiry as former Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) director general (DG) and Local Government Department secretary had allegedly received kickbacks in the project.
He alleged that both officers were awarded with certificates by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan for completing the flyover project in minimum time. He also demanded that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister should also be interrogated in this connection because he gained political mileage from the project.
When contacted, former PDA DG refused to comment on the issue while Local Government Minister Inayatullah Khan could not be reached for comment, despite repeated attempts.
