MULTAN: The metro bus project administration has announced the construction of an underpass near New Sabzi Mandi for the bus route but the residents demand that the portion of the route passing through the area be on an overhead bridge.

A delegation of the area residents met project chief engineer Sabir Khan Sadozai here on Monday.

`The underpass will address the problems of the housing colony,` he said, referring to people`s complaint that the dedicated fenced route would divide the area into two parts.

`A u-turn will be made over the underpass to facilitate the traffic of Madni Chowk.

Similarly, another overhead bridge is being constructed over the railway underpass where a u-turn will also be built,` he said.

He said the engineers had also designed a signal-free Chungi No 6intersection.

`U-turns will be made for traffic from Bahauddin Zakariya University to Gulgasht and to Chungi No 9 from Gulgasht,` he said.

He said several pedestrian bridges would be made over the about six kilometre fenced route.

He said the metro bus project would facilitate the people and a safe corridor would be provided to the traffic coming from Bahawalpur Bypass to Chungi No 9 via Vehari Chowk, Mumtazabad, Hafiz Jamal Road and Daulat Gate.

Mehfooz Khan Shujaat of the Action Committee of Low Income Housing Scheme, New Multan, said the construction of the dedicate corridor on road would divide the people of the housing colony into two parts besides creating problems in accessing hospitals, markets and government offices.

He alleged the metroadministration had changed the route three times at the behest of a ruling party MPA.

He said the route was changed near Jinnah Park (from where the ground portion of the corridor begins) by cutting through the road while the route once again crosses the road near Pakistan Post Office.

He said the solution suggested by the metro bus administration would not help resolve the issue.

He demanded since the portion passing through New Multan was not more than 1.5 kilometre, the entire portion be elevated. Staff Correspondent