Skip to main content

Residents of Murree, adjoining areas find flaws with Serena underpass project

ISLAMABAD: One of the ongoing multibillion Serena underpasses project will be of no use unless the Capital Development Authority (CDA) comes up with a solution to link Srinagar Highway with the road coming from Murree.

People of Murree and adjoining areas through their joint forum — Kohsar United Front — have requested Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and CDA Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa to look into this issue and provide a link to traffic coming from Murree Road with Srinagar Highway through underpass or flyover.

Currently, work on Serena road project worth Rs4.2 billion, is in progress under which the CDA is supposed to construct three underpasses — two on Srinagar Highway and one on Khyaban-i-Soharwardi with loops.

The underpasses on Srinagar Highway are designed to ensure smooth flow of traffic on this busy road.

During a visit to the site, Dawn noticed that traffic coming from Murree side will not get benefit out of the underpass if the road was not linked with Srinagar Highway.

Traffic from Murree does not have direct access to Srinagar Highway under new project

There is an intersection at the junction of Srinagar Highway and Murree Road, which was closed to traffic coming from Murree side many years ago to avoid accidents.

Under the project, the Srinagar Highway is partially linked with Murree Road and traffic going towards Murree and Kashmir will go smoothly through the underpass. But, traffic coming from Murree will not be able to enter the Srinagar Highway.

Therefore, people of Murree, AJK, Galyat and Kotli Sattian and Bhara Kahu have to cover extra distance and have to take U-turn from Dhokri chowk roundabout. So, when multi billions ongoing Serena project is completed then too, they will not get any benefit out of it, unless an underpass and small flyover is built on Murree Road to provide them easy access to Srinagar Highway.

Social and rights activist Sufyan Abbasi, who being chairman of Kohsar United Front said that without the construction of underpass on Murree Road, the ongoing Serena road project will not be beneficial for millions of people of Murree, AJK, Galyat, Bhara Kahu and other adjoining areas.

Little intervention of interior minister and the CDA chairman could provide big relief to residents of Murree, Bhara Kahu and other areas, he said and added that a delegation of people will hold meeting with the CDA chairman in this regard soon.

“We have to take U turn from Dhokri Chowk also known as Kashmir Chowk, which is a time taking process. Secondly, during peak hours we face traffic congestion as well,” he said and added that often this chowk face closure due to VIP movements.

He said that the underpass on Murree Road should have been part of the Serena project.

When contacted, CDA’s member engineering Syed Nafasat Raza said that this issue is already in CDA’s notice and “we will resolve it,” he said and added that the interior Minister and CDA chairman had already directed the consultant to propose a viable solution, he said.

“In one of the meetings, the minister also highlighted this issue so let me assure you that we will resolve this issue,” he said.

Jinnah Avenue

Member engineering CDA said that the interior minister had also directed the department concerned to resolve the issue of F-10 roundabout. The CDA is also executing multi-billion flyover and underpass project on Jinnah Avenue at F-8.

The member said that on Thursday night, the interior minister and the CDA chief visited the F-10 roundabout to look into this issue. “Consultant has been directed to come up with viable solution,” he said.

Mr Raza said: “We are cognisant of both F-10 and Murree Road issues and we will resolve them,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2024



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/CjHEsqm
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Republican primary race for president in 2024

The Republican primary race for president in 2024 is already shaping up to be a competitive one. There are a number of high-profile candidates who have already announced their intention to run, and more are expected to join the field in the coming months. The frontrunner for the nomination is former President Donald Trump. Trump has been teasing a 2024 run for months, and he has a large and loyal following among Republican voters. However, he is also a polarizing figure, and his candidacy could alienate some moderate Republicans. Another potential contender for the nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has been praised by many conservatives for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his opposition to vaccine mandates. He is also seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott. Pence is a more traditional Republican who could appeal to moderate vote...
1 comment
Read more

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a...
Post a Comment
Read more

In noisy NA session, Bilawal endorses PTI’s call for judicial inquiry into May 9 riots

In his maiden speech during a session of the newly elected National Assembly, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday endorsed the PTI’s call for a judicial inquiry into the May 9 riots. He passed these remarks in reference to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s recent call for the formation of a judicial commission to probe the violent protests that erupted across the country following PTI founder Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9 last year. “I call upon the chief justice Supreme Court of Pakistan (Justice Qaez Faiz Isa) to form [a judicial commission] and see who are the beneficiaries [of May 9],” Gandapur had said in a fiery speech after being elected the chief executive of KP. Speaking on the floor of the lower house of the Parliament today, Bilawal said he endorsed Gandapur’s demand. But at the same time, he stated that the result should be accepted by everyone, including the Imran-led party. “It is not possible that someone attacks our institution and th...
Post a Comment
Read more