KOTRI:
Faulty drainage system and broken roads in the city have made life miserable for citizens, especially those taking National Highway, which is in a state of disrepair from Al-Madina Chowk to Kotri Phatak.
The road had to be constructed at a cost of Rs240 million, but owing to its incompletion, it has become a nuisance for everyday traffic. The 2-3 kilometer long road from Al-Madinah Chowk to Kotri Phatak has been under construction for several months. The contractor had left the road scrapped and filled with stones earlier for several months, but after public complaints, he laid down a temporary road, but highway remains largely without completion. The road is uneven, and vehicles are suffering damage on a daily basis. Suspension and shock absorbers of cars are being damaged, while the shock absorbers and chain sprockets of motorcycles are also being affected.
Provincial Highway Department and Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department have also left construction work on Station Road incomplete. The road from Station Chowk to Railway Colony and from Khanpur Police Post to Chaudhry Karamuddin area has also been left unfinished. PHE Department has also left drainage work incomplete at various places. Citizens are forced to travel on these damaged roads.
Earlier, the department had constructed a drainage system from Kotri Rasool Mori to Kashti Chowk, which was estimated to cost billions of rupees, but due to substandard work and delay, citizens could find no relief. Various areas have been neglected in the projects, and unnecessary work has been done in some areas, where political favorites have been given preference.
Citizens say that government departments including Provincial Highway Department, PHE Department, and Road Department work under political pressure. There is a need to monitor their work, for which honest officers from NAB should be appointed.
Published in The Express Tribune May 11th, 2024.