Delay behind Metro Bus project: adverse environmental impact causing respiratory problems: experts

Inordinate delay and lack of sound construction practices to minimise environmental impact of the ongoing Metro Bus project augmented dust allergies and respiratory problems in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, heath experts said.
Hospital sources said that the number of people suffering from dust allergies and respiratory as well as stomach diseases have increased manifold during the last couple of months in comparison to previous years.
Hundreds of patients suffering from dust allergies leading to respiratory complications daily visit different hospitals of the twin cities including Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Polyclinic and Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) - numbers that have risen dramatically since the commencement of the construction of metro bus project, they said.
They said that the concerned authorities need to complete the project as soon as possible and advised the citizens to use masks while passing near the project site. The government needs to bind developers to adopt sound construction practices, they added.
Dr Waseem Khawaja, senior doctor at PIMS, talking to Business Recorder, said that the project is contributing to increase in dust allergies and respiratory problems among residents, therefore developers of the project need to sprinkle water on daily basis to curb dust particles and citizens should also use masks.
Dr Hassan Urooj said that no doubt the project will benefit residents when it is completed but non-implementation of environment management and monitoring plan resulted in an increase in dust allergies and respiratory diseases.
"Due to long duration and location of the project (it pass through the center of the two cities), residents are exposed to dust particles for much of their daily journey," he said.
A senior official associated with the project, said that the project would be completed soon as the track of the project is almost completed, except construction of the main bus station located near Pak-Secretariat and Peshawar Mor Flyover.
He further said that the construction work of bridges of Peshawar Mor Flyover over the Metro bus service track have been completed, while the remaining part of the flyover will require more time to complete.
He said that metro pus project consisted of eight packages that include three packages in Rawalpindi and five in Islamabad.
The official said that in Rawalpindi portion, there were 10 bus stations located at Flashman's Hotel, Marrir Chowk, Liaquat Bagh, Committee Chowk, Waris Khan Road, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rehmanabad, 6th Road, Shamsabad and Faizabad. In Islamabad portion, there are 14 bus stations located at IJP Road, Potohar Road, Khyban-e-Johar Road, Faiz Ahmed Faiz Road, Peshawar Mor Interchange, Chamnan station (at G-9/4), Ibne Seena Road, Kachery Road, Centaurs station, Islamabad Stock Exchange station, 7th Avenue Road, Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Parade Ground station and Pak Secretariat, he said.
The project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on March 23, 2013 and the original scheduled completion date was fixed December 2014.