Reconstruction of damaged road left incomplete

Prominent social worker and activist of the PPP, Akmal Bhutto, said after the floods a retaining wall was constructed on the roadside by the communication and works (C&W) department but the road could not be repaired. As a result, water leaking into the road from the river is standing on the middle of the road. He said the residents of the village, comprising 200 households, were facing great hardships while travelling to and from the area. Especially school-going children were in trouble as they have to go school situated in another village. He said due to the standing water on the road, sometimes children try to walk over the retaining wall on the river bank which is dangerous for their lives. Muhammad Afzal, a resident of the village, said the road had been left damaged for over two years. He said the reconstruction work had been awarded to a contractor but he left the work incomplete. Zohaib Ahmad, a student of 8th class, said while going to school he faced problems because his shoes and uniform got dirty and wet because of the water standing on the road. Local people complained that Akmal Bhutto was the information secretary of the PPP BUT party MPAA Saleem Khan never arranged funds for the blacktopping of the road. They also complained that the contractor was not paid by the C&W department that was why he left the work incomplete. Executive Engineer C&W Maqbool Azam, however, denied the allegation and said the contractor had been paid but some liabilities were still pending. But he confessed that they had no fund for the payment of the liabilities. He expressed the hope that the department would get funds in July after which the remaining part of Dhoom Shogoor road would be completed.]]>