Scanty road devices cause accidents, traffic jams

He said that equipping the City’s roads with RSDs, which are also called road furniture, was the responsibility of the CDGL’s Works and Services (W&S) Department. He said now the chief minister had also empowered TEPA to install, maintain and improve RSDs on major roads. He said because there were no markings on the roads, the lanes system had completely collapsed. He added that in some places, the markings were present, but they did not conform to the standards.
The TEPA official lamented that cat eyes, one of the most important road signs, were nowhere to be seen in the City. He suggested that thermoplastic paint should be used for road markings because it is longer than the regular paint.
Another official of the department concerned said road signs had been installed by the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) to collect revenue from the private companies. However, he said the PHA had not maintained or improved the signs. He said the responsibility of installing, repairing and maintaining road signs lies with the CDGL’s Works and Services Department, but it did not pay attention to this issue.
“It is a national tragedy that no arrangements are made for the road’s operational maintenance once it is completed. A newly constructed road should have a life of at least 25 years, but poor maintenance makes them rickety in only a few years after their completion” commented Chief Engineer TEPA Khushal Khan.
He proposed mandatory technical inspection of all the City roads every year. He added that after the inspection, a routine and special maintenance plan should be implemented.
He suggested the maintenance should be done in January, February and March every year when the City receives maximum rains.
EDO (Works and Services) Khalid Imran Burki said that maintenance and improvement of road safety devices should be done periodically, but this concept was attached with the line and lane system, which was frequently violated in the City because of the uncontrolled traffic.