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The road will give direct access to various sectors and GT Road to Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: Construction of Margalla Avenue from GT Road to D-12, where it connects with Margalla Road is one of the mega projects left by the previous government in the capital including expansion of Islamabad Expressway, Metro Bus Extension from Peshawar Mor to Airport and construction of waste disposal site, among others.
With the new government all set to abolish Ministry of CADD (Capital Administration and Development Division) to focus on human development, health facilities and education; the fate of Margalla Avenue hangs in balance.
Once completed, Margalla Avenue is expected to reduce the traffic load on IJP (Islamabad/Inter Junction Principal) Road as well. At present ,IJP Road is lifeline for business and transport in twin cities and the one separating Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
It is only of late that the IJP road had been rehabilitated. Previously for years, the sheer negligence of successive governments reduced it to state of permanent disrepair.
The continuous flow of heavy traffic in addition to the thousands of cars and bikes has affected the road, with craters and potholes metre-long and deep at some areas of the road have been filed lately.
The political and bureaucratic elite of Islamabad once again made sure that the commoners of the city be denied safe, well kept roads. Their instrument of choice is none other than the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
The full-scale refurbishment of roads in posh sectors is shamelessly done while the service roads, link roads and even main roads of humble neighbourhoods remain the same.
During the end of last year, CDA and MCI spent billions of rupees on re-carpeting and rehabilitating old roads. It was during these projects that development work on dualisation of service roads, east and west of E-11 for providing an easy access to sector D-12 was completed. A second carriage way from the roundabout service road (west) of sector G-10 to Khaybaan-e-Iqbal was also carried out.
Both roads are part of extension of Margalla Avenue.
It is pertinent to mention that once in power, the last government announced a Rs5 billion assistance package for revamping, re-carpeting, rehabilitating and constructing new roads in the capital.
However, CADD reduced it to 1 billion due to shortage of funds. Many roads, service roads in particular, of Islamabad are still in shambles as CDA has shown apathy and sheer indifference when it comes to maintenance.
