CDA fails to maintain main roads in Islamabad

Islamabad: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) might be facing severe financial constraints, but it does not cost too much to carry out maintenance of the existing road network. After paying no heed to plight of users of IJ Principal Road, which is ruining with the passage of each passing day, the civic body is also now ignoring roads of posh areas like Embassy Road where a four feet wide ditch awaits attention of the road directorate for the last several months.

Over the last two years, a number of ditches and rough patches had appeared on the I J Principal Road, which is busiest main road used by commuters plying between Rawalpindi and Islamabad and within the federal capital to go to their work places.

The I J Principal Road, which starts from Peshawar Road and ends at Faizabad was dualised and completed about ten years ago, but at that time no care was taken to provide a lane for heavy traffic. As a result, the overloaded vehicles have been playing havoc with the road causing rough patches at many spots.

The poor construction of this main road had resulted in appearance of ditches, which had widened but were never repaired by the road directorate of the civic body. “As I have to use IJ Principal Road while going to office and coming back, it is not possible for me to have a smooth drive,” Firdous Shahid, an employee in a government office at Sector H-8 said.

He said that drainage system on the road is also choked at different places particularly near Pindora Chungi and the road is inundated with water even when there is moderate rain.

He called upon CDA Chairman Farkhand Iqbal who himself is an engineer to undertake visit of IJ Principal Road, sectors I-9 and I-10. “But I fear the officials of engineering wing will keep him away from these areas,” he said.

The most deteriorated area having rough patches and ditches exists between Faizabad and Khyaban-e-Sir Syed.

Member Engineering Sanaullah Aman when contacted by this scribe said soon he would visit IJ Principal Road and sectors I-9 and I-10 so that necessary maintenance could be initiated.

He said that chairman of Prime Minister Task Force has also issued directives to take care of ignored residential sectors.

The engineering wing of the civic body has also not been able to maintain the old IJ Principal Road, which could supplement load of traffic on the dualised IJ Principal Road.