RAWALPINDI: As The Mall remains closed to traffic due to construction, travelling to and from Saddar via alternate routes has become a nightmare for citizens due to the dilapidated roads, which have not been repaired in months after they were dug up to shift utility lines underground.

These roads include Kashmir Road, Adamjee Road, Haider Road, Railway Station Road, Cantonment Police Station Road, and Transit Camp Road, but in Saddar the major commercial hub the situation is the worst.

Motorists said it was difficult for them to reach Saddar due to countless potholes, which damaged their vehicles besides causing traffic snarls at several places. Even the public transporters face difficulty on theseroads, and taxi drivers refuse to go to Saddar.

Recently, the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) launched renovation works in Saddar to improve its condition, but only a 1.51(m patch of Bank Road from Murree Road to Cantonment Police Station Road was repaired while Haider Road, Adamjee Road, Kashmir Road, Chotta Bazaar, Babu Mohallah, and Railways Road were ignored.

For instance, the footpaths were damaged, and ditches dug up months ago to shift underground electricity lines, had not been repaired on Haider Road from GPO Chowk to Tehzeeb Bakers. Similarly, gutters have been overflowing in the Kamran Market for the last few weeks, while potholes on the main road from Cantonment Police Station to the railway station compound the miseries of commuters.

The residents of the cantonment areas have urged the federal and provincial governments to fulfill their promises of public welfare. Talking to Dawn, they said the civic authority collected all the taxesfrom them, but in return, they were provided with barely any facilities.

Abdul Rehman, a resident of Saddar, said, `Earlier, the cantonment was a neat and clean area in the country, but things have changed. Now poor road infrastructure, encroachments, and other problems are creating problems for the people.

Instead of providing a better environment for residents, the RCB only paid attention to Bank Road, he said.

Nasir Chaudhry, a visitor, said, `Bumpy roads and broken footpaths can be seen everywhere and it has created problems for the people, as after the closure of The Mall, we have no other option but travel through the middle of Saddar. The RCB has failed to ensure their maintenance, he said.

Cantonment Traders Association General Secretary Zafar Qadri said that there were many factors for the worsening condition of roads, but above all, it was the lack of interest by the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board towards the rehabilitation of the area.`The business activities have suffered. We are already facing financial crises due to fewer visitors on Bank Road...` he said.

RCB Cantonment Executive Officer Syed Ali Irfan was not available for comments.

RCB spokesman Rasheed Saqib told Dawn that due to the construction work on The Mall, the RCB did not start the repair work on Adamjee Road and Haider Road since they were being used as alternate routes.

He said that the RCB would improve roads after getting funds from the government.

`Basically, there are two parts of the `Improvement Saddar Project`; one phase has been completed after the improvement of Bank Road, and the second phase to improve Haider Road, Adamjee Road, and Kashmir Road will start after getting funds from the government,` he said.

`We have sent the proposal to our parent department, Military Lands and Cantonment, and it would get the funds from the federal or Punjab government,` he claimed.