RAWALPINDI – The residents and commuters of ever-busy Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Road have decried the apathy of the Punjab Highway Department (PHD) for neglecting the main artery between the twin cities.
The road whose various sections are looked after by various agencies, has become a classic example of passing the buck to the other, without taking any responsibility. While the lane-marking, done by spending millions by Rawalpindi’s civic authority has literally vanished, potholes have emerged, particularly near the city’s only median U-turn near Shamsabad.
The commuters while demanding more of such U-turns to ease flow of traffic demanded that the authorities focus on repairing and widening the one at Shamsabad. With monsoon season around the corner, the motorists fear the number of potholes will only increase, and create more problems for the road users.
They were also critical of the CDA for neglecting the Faizabad Interchange loops, particularly the one from Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Road to IJ Principal Road that has become a pain to drive, with deep holes and has the shortest width of all loops, leading to traffic congestion and jams.
Adnan Ahmed a regular commuter urged concerned authorities to carry out repair on the road around Shamsabad mosque and elsewhere. The residents told APP that while the Punjab government has undertaken various projects to resolve traffic problem on the city’s only main artery, they expect the authorities to carry timely repair of the road to save it from further deterioration in the rainy season.
Online adds: One of the busiest avenues of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, IJ Principal Road, has no signals and reflectors at U-turns which has given way to soaring rate of accidents.
According to details, traffic signals have been removed and U-turns have been made at different points of IJ Principal road in order to control heavy traffic, but these blind U-turns have become a major cause of road accidents.
There are no reflectors and sign-boards to indicate start of the U-turns, which is why the commuters on comparatively small vehicles have to face a lot of difficulties.
There are certain overhead bridges for the pedestrians to cross the road but more bridges are still needed to facilitate the citizens.
Moreover, there is absence of overhead bridges at Pandora Chowk, CDA Chowk, and West Ridge Chowk. The citizens demand administration of the twin cities to take drastic measures for the safety of the commuters.