Lahore-Sialkot Motorway: Toll tax being collected but no security

LAHORE: The authorities concerned have been collecting toll tax on Lahore-Sialkot Motorway (M-11) since its opening without providing security to travellers, though the absence of law-enforcers had been highlighted several times by the stakeholders.

A 91-km long Lahore-Sialkot Motorway (M-11) was made operational on March 18, 2020 by opening it for the public. Despite passage of five months and 22 days, law enforcers could not be detailed for patroling to preempt robberies, rape and accidents.

Civil society, businessmen and emergency services had continuously been highlighting the fact that the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway (M-11) is going to become no-go area for road users with fatal accidents and crime incidents in the absence of the law-enforcers. RPO Gujranwala Riaz Nazeer Gara had also proposed the deployment of the Punjab Highway Police (PHP) on M-11 as a stop-gap arrangement until the formal functioning of Motorway Police to improve the rapidly deteriorating security and road safety situation on the section, but to no avail.

He had written a letter to the then IGP Punjab to take up the issue with IGP National Highways and Motorway Police to go for an urgent deployment of Motorway Police on M-11 whereas the IGP Punjab had also made a similar request to the NH&MP IG to apply all the patrolling mechanism on the said route like the other motorways and highways of the country to address the rapidly deteriorating security situation on the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway.

The CPO Gujranwala had also brought into the notice of the RPO the rising incidents of heinous crimes on the 42-km patch of Sialkot-Lahore Motorway passing through various villages of Wahndo and Ferozewala police stations of the Gujranwala district. The incidents were also happening on the said Motorway which falls under the jurisdiction of Lahore Police.

Similarly, the Sialkot police as well as the local businessmen, belonging to Gujrat, Wazirabad and other parts of Gujranwala region, had also drawn attention of senior authorities of police as well as divisional administration about the issues pertaining to poor road safety and absence of patrolling by the Motorway Police on the road.

A Lahore-based journalist, along with three members of his family, including his wife and two sons, also fell victim to a severe road accident when a speeding car struck his vehicle near Pasrur toll Plaza before Eidul Fitr.

Security lapses on the Motorway such as no law-enforcing agency patrolling it, unplugged U-turns and ongoing construction at some places had been talk of the road users and brought into the notice of senior police officers, but nothing was done to resolve the issues especially related to law enforcement. A number of incidents were also reported in which the robbers used the barriers of the construction company for the criminal activities.

Unfortunately, Lahore Police did not bother to deploy local police at and around Motorway despite knowing the fact that Motorway Police were not deployed there.

A spokesman for the Motorway Police said the 91-km Motorway needed at least two beats and each beat needs the strength of 40 patrolling officers round-the-clock. He said the beat camps were also needed for police force. The government should have finalised the deployment of force before making the road operational for users, said a senior police officer. Efforts were made to talk to the PRO of NHA but he did not respond to the calls and messages sent to him on his cell-phone by this correspondent.

The project was initiated by the previous government of Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) in 2017. The project is completed by Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) on Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) mode. The maintenance and operation of said Motorway would remain with the FWO for next 25 years after which the road would be handed over to the National Highways Authority.

According to the NHA documents, the four-lane Motorway having two lanes on each side has been completed at a cost of around Rs43 billion. Seven interchanges, six flyovers, 24 bridges, 22 underpasses, 13 subways and 274 culverts are part of the project.

The Motorway starts from Lahore where it is connected with eastern bypass and Ring Road while its first interchange is situated at Kala Shah Kaku, which connects it with N-5, commonly known as GT Road as well as the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway (M-2).

Its second interchange links Muridke and Narowal while the third interchange connects Aimanabad and Wahndo. The fourth interchange links district Gujranwala and Pasrur while the fifth one is between Daska and Pasrur. The sixth interchange falls between Daska and Sialkot while the last interchange is situated around 15km in the west of Sialkot city.