RAWALPINDI: Despite the groundbrealcing ceremony for the reconstruction of Bostan Khan Road by the interior minister on June 21, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) is yet to begin the repair work.

The road, which connects Chaklala Scheme III with the Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench, has been in a shambles for several years, and travelling on the road has become a nightmare for motorists and pedestrians.

The road caters to residents of the PWD Housing Society, Media Town, Bahria Town, Gulraiz, Yousuf Colony, Nayyar Colony and Dholce Chaudhrian heading towards Saddar, Rawal Road, Raja Bazaar and the airport.

Due to its condition, traffic on the road is slow and jams are frequent during peak school and office timings.

Local residents have demanded that the road be repaired but the area`s MNA and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who performed the groundbreaking and installed a plaque, has not initiated steps for its actualreconstruction.

Under its annual development pro-gramme, the Punjab government has allocated Rs390 million for the project, of which Rs100 million was released in the 2014-15 fiscal year. However, the RDA seems to have ignored this.

A senior RDA official told Dawn that the civic body had enough funding to begin reconstruction but RDA engineers were occupied with the metro bus project and so work had instead been focused on drainage along the road near the LHC.

He said work would likely speed up once the metro bus project was completed. Political issues have also played a part in its sluggishness.

Local residents and commuters have criticised the provincial government, the RDA and the Potohar Town Municipal Administration (PTMA) for not taking the necessary steps to resolve the issue.

Awais Ahmed of Nayyar Colony said his car had been damaged due to the road`s condition, which broke his car`s silencer twice last month.

`The potholes on the road are visible. When it rains, water accumulates and causes problems for pedestrians, he added.Mohammad Faisal, a resident of Gulraiz, who uses the road to travel to Saddar and the airport on a daily basis, said it takes an hour and a half to travel from Car Chowk to Chaklala Scheme III.

`It`s rumoured that the owner of Bahria Town wanted to reconstruct the road as he did in 2009-10 but Chaudhry Nisar wanted credit for its reconstruction,` he said.

Mushtaq Ahmed, a commuter, criticised the provincial government for its failure to repair the road. `We have to inhale the dust rising from the broken road. Many people in the area are allergic to the rising dust, which we have to deal with frequently,` he said.

RDA director general Zahid Saeed was not available to comment despite repeated attempts.

A senior RDA official claimed that work on the road had begun and was in its initial stage, during which drainage would be constructed from Car Chowk to the LHC Rawalpindi bench. The official said the work would begin once the construction of these drains (from Car Chowk to Chaklala Scheme III) is complete. A Reporter