KARACHI - Residents of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Karachi have to face serious difficulties and hardships due to incomplete roads, dug up for repair work a few months ago. A survey by The Nation showed that the DHA has left the repair work of different roads in Badar Commercial, Tauheed Commercial, Khayaban-e-Shamshir, Zamzama, Khayaban-e-Shujaat and Main Saba Road incomplete. Local residents said that these roads were dug up before the start of monsoon rains eight months ago with the aim to develop sewerage system. However, despite the completion of sewerage work, several roads are still incomplete causing great inconvenience to the motorists and pedestrians besides increasing the dust pollution in the area. The residential and commercial areas in DHA were flooded with rainwater last year that badly damaged infrastructure. To overcome the accumulation of rainwater, the DHA initiated sewerage development plan in Karachi last year but left it incomplete. After assuming charge, the new DHA administrator decided to modernise sewerage system to cope with the problem of rainwater. However, it's pathetic that DHA has completed the work on sewerage lines in several phases but failed to re-construct the dug up roads. The residents further said they were paying more taxes, but the DHA was not providing better facilities at par with DHA in Lahore. Dr Aftab, a resident of Phase V near Sea View, complained that due to dug out of roads in DHA they were facing serious hardships. He added that countless VIPs and VVIPs are residing in the area but the roads here are in a dilapidated condition. Sheryar Hussain, another resident, said "We were delighted that new administrator of DHA has started work in DHA to maintain roads and install a new sewerage line in different phases which had been badly damaged due to negligence of his predecessor". He complained that slow pace of work caused inordinate delay in the construction/repair of roads. Talking to The Nation spokesman of DHA Additional Director Public Lt. Col (R) Rafat Naqvi said the DHA has massive development funds and delay in the construction of roads was due to the non-issuance of a clearance and go-ahead from other agencies. The said agencies want to complete the work of under-ground gas, electricity, PTCL work as a result the DHA was not being given a go-ahead signal by these agencies, he added. Naqvi said that DHA was resuming work on suspended Gizri Flyover project with changed design. The flyover will terminate short of Total Petrol Pump towards Gizri and the project will be completed by March 2009. The DHA spokesman further said that authority was conducting a study through NESPAK for smooth flow of traffic in DHA. Moreover, the work on re-carpeting/reconstruction of the Khayabans in DHA will commence from 15 November 2008, he concluded.