SWAT - Believe it or not, Fizaghat Bypass Road has actually becomes a death trap as it has claimed dozens of precious human lives since its construction.
Fizaghat Bypass Road is probably the most famous road in Mingora city but instead to facilitate residents in their travelling, it turns to be a death trap for them as high ratio of accidents was recorded on it due to absence of footpath and lack of speed breakers on it. At least 20 people have lost their lives in accidents on this road in current year.
The 5km long bypass road has only seven speed breakers while there is no footpath for pedestrians and as a result, hundreds of precious human lives have been lost.
The road needs attention of district administration and Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority.
The project was introduced by the then former MMA government in Khyber Pakhtunkwa in 2006 while it was completed in the ANP government. Former provincial information minister KP Mian Iftikhar Hussain inaugurated the project a couple of years back.
Afsar Ali Khan, owner of a hotel, said the elected public representatives who were claiming for bringing a change also failed to resolve this issue. He said they also left people in the lurch and were paying no heed to construct footpath and speed breakers on this road.
A student Sajad Ali said that change could not come peacefully as strict action should be taken to stop over speeding on the road and traffic police should also be deployed especially from Fizaghat to Police Lines Chowk aimed to reduce road accidents.
When contacted, Pakhtun Khwa Highway Authority (PKHA) Director Barkat Ali said that the slim cement line on both sides of the road is actually an indication of footpath for pedestrians. He said the road does not need anymore speed breakers because the rhythm of speed and beauty of road will be abolished if footpath and more speed breakers constructed on it.