DERA GHAZI KHAN City News

Dilapidated Multan-Dera-Quetta Road awaits repair
From Hasnain Qaisrani
DERA GHAZI KHAN: The number of traffic accidents has increased manifold on the dilapidated inter-provincial Multan-Dera-Quetta Road, as the transporters are reluctant to run their new vehicles for passengers on this route.
The most important highway that links Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan with Punjab is rife with bumps and depressions. There are no shoulders along most part of the road, putting the drivers in an uncomfortable position throughout the journey.
The portion from DG Khan to Multan, which was constructed at the time of building Ghazi Ghat Bridge over River Indus in 1985, is being ignored by the National Highway Authority for long. This portion of the road needs not only immediate repair but also widening and extension.
Transporters told The News that despite an increase in the volume of business, they are unable to book goods in bulk for other parts of the country due to shabby condition of the road.
One of the leading transport company owners said they had to bear huge expenses on repair and maintenance of their vehicles.
He said traffic load on this road is not less than the Multan-Lahore Road but non-allocation of funds for its repair and widening showed the departments concerned are not aware of importance of this road.
The NHA collects toll on two points of this 85 kilometres long section, at Ghazi Ghat Bridge and Chenab Bridge, and earns good revenue on daily basis, but nothing is being spent to improve its condition, transporters said.
However, an NHA Maintenance Unit official in DG Khan claimed that the DG Khan-Ghazi Ghat section was well maintained. However, the Ghazi Ghat-Multan section falls in the jurisdiction of NHA Multan office and he could not comment on its condition, he added.
On the hand, an official at NHA Multan office said PC-1 for repair and maintenance of the dilapidated section had been submitted and as soon as it is approved, repair work would be started immediately.