People urge for timely completion of the project
Staff Reporter
RAWALPINDI: Metro bus project created tremendous hurdle to local people and commuters who use Murree road for travelling. According to details, date of the completion of metro bus project has been delayed number of times with lame excuses and new deadlines have been given by the CM Punjab. While expressing anguish and concerns over delay in completion of Metro Bus Project he strictly directed to the concerned authorities to complete the project latest by February 15 for operating buses on Rawalpindi and Islamabad routes.
According to credible sources, Metro Bus Project Implementation Sub-Committee Chairman Hanif Abbasi held a meeting with Shahbaz Sharif at Islamabad Airport on his return from Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, Hanif Abbasi briefed the chief minister on the ongoing work on Metro Bus Service Project. He informed the chief minister that due to addition of components in the project, including laying of new sewerage and drainage pipelines and construction of an underpass at Liaquat Bagh Chowk, its completion would be delayed by another two weeks. Hanif Abbasi also referred to the two sit-ins of PTI and PAT, which lasted longer, due to which work on the project remained suspended for a long period.
The chief minister, while rejecting the excuses, ordered for further expediting work on the project and completing it soon for meeting the new deadline of February 15. Further delay in completion period could not be tolerated, the chief minister said.
However, though the concerned authorities like earlier have vowed to meet the new deadline, but the officials and staff related to the project are still not sure enough that work would be over even by February 15. According to them, still sufficient work remains on Packages-II of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The Package-II of Peshawar Morr Interchange, which they claimed, is a component of the project, would take time for completion. However, they were sure enough that the overall project inauguration is possible on March 23 this year. Till that time, work on components, including reconstruction and carpeting of entire Benazir Bhutto Road and laying of sewerage and drainage pipelines, would also be over.
However, Metro Bus Project official spokesman Assistant Director Hafiz Muhammad Irfan, is quit hopeful to complete the project within new deadline given by CM Punjab while talking to the scribe he said that work on all components would be over a couple of days before the inauguration date, he stated.
On the other hand common people are facing great hurdles to travel on Muree road. Muhammad Asif who daily travels from Rawalpindi to Islamabad, said that he was fed up from the daily route changing habit of CTP. He said that he needs one and half hour daily to travel from Rawalpindi to Islamabad on his own car. He said CTP has been failed to control the flow of traffic and usually wardens on Murree road misbehaved with the people. Another shopkeeper Shakeel running furniture business at Muree road claimed that CTP can’t control traffic on busy Murree road and delay by the government really has affected the business of people on Murree road.
People have requested the incumbent government and especially to the C.M. Punjab Shahbaz Sharif to take strict actions for the completion of the project within the given date.
