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Deteriorating condition of roads

Sialkot traders demand

PM's intervention

SIALKOT: Several industrialists, business organizations, farmers and transporters of the Sialkot district have once again expressed grave concern over the poor and broken roads in the areas, especially Sialkot-Wazirabad and Daska-Sambrial roads.

The travelling public and business community are worried over this sad affair and they have demanded of Prime Minister Ms Benazir Bhutto and Chief Minister, Sardar Muhammad Arif Nakai to interfere the matter.

Expressing deep concern over the last deteriorating condition of the Sialkot-Wazirabad Road, forming a part of the Grand Trunk Road, linking the city and cantonment with Islamabad, President of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce Akhtar Qaiser told a press conference here on Friday that the road was in shambles as a result of the last year heavy rains and floods in Sialkot. "But, since then, nobody had paid any attention towards its repair and renovation, and it had continued to deteriorate under heavy traffic," he said.

Akhtar Qaisar maintained at it was said that such an important road located in the area of Sialkot dryport had been neglected for more than a year and no authority considered it worth repairing. "As Sialkot is a big industrial and exporting centre, hundreds of tons of cargo have to be transported to the dryport and Islamabad for onward transmission to their foreign destinations and the poor condition of the road had put hurdles in the smooth flow of traffic," he said.

Besides, businessmen and exporters of Sialkot had to go daily to Islamabad in connection with their problems and difficulties, and had to suffer a lot because of the road, he added. He gave details of how not only vehicles were damaged as a result of the deplorable condition of the road but mishaps also occurred resulting in the loss of human lives.

The chamber chief said that the authorities concerned had promised to get the road repaired on the repeated requests of the industrialists, citizens and Sambrial Dryport officials but no concrete steps were taken. He said that Sialkot being the most important exporting city, deserted the special attention of the government regarding the roads and traffic on top priority basis.

The problems of exporters in dispatching their consignments to Islamabad had increased, and they were facing unnecessary delay. "This is also damaging Sialkot image, because foreign visitors, who came to Sialkot to settle foreign purchase issues, there was no other way to escort them to the city except by air for which no facilities existed here", he said.

He appealed to the concerned authorities to take immediate steps to ensure the repairs of the road.-PPI