ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Communications criticised the National Highways Authority (NHA) for poor road conditions and mismanagement in Balochistan, which is resulting in a huge number of accidents.
The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Pervaiz Rashid here on Tuesday which focused on a notice by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, addressing alarming statistics from the Balochistan Medical Emergency Response Centre (BMERC).
BMERC reports indicate over 46,000 accidents on Balochistan highways in the past five years, attributed to inadequate road conditions and heavy traffic.
Senator Mumtaz highlighted the poor state of key roads including Uthal (N-25), Kalat (N-25), Gwadar (N-10), and Killa Saifullah (N-50), covering a total of 620 kilometres. She emphasised that despite government allocations, the crucial N-25 remains undeveloped. Both the NHA and the Ministry of Communications failed to provide satisfactory answers regarding the utilisation of funds since a decade.
The senators criticised the NHA for poor road maintenance and questioned the establishment of toll plazas that do not benefit local communities.
The committee also discussed the role of over-speeding, overloading, and inadequate driver ethics in accidents. The motorway police reported 422 accidents in the West Zone since 2019, resulting in 304 deaths and 952 injuries.
However, members expressed skepticism about these factors being the sole causes and criticised the NHA for neglecting proper maintenance and project execution.
The committee sought to review in detail the performance of the Ministry of Communications and the NHA.
Tallah Badar lamented the ineffective measures taken to address road damage, despite an annual expenditure exceeding Rs15 billion. The NHA’s chairman pointed out funding constraints impacting project development and maintenance, stating that only Rs2.4 billion are allocated for repairing 14,483 kilometres of road.
The committee chair emphasised the urgent need for effective solutions to the road safety crisis. A sub-committee will be formed to work with NHA and the ministry officials to develop actionable plans and assess performance, aiming at addressing the serious road safety issues in Balochistan and beyond.
The meeting was attended by senators, Dost Ali Jeesar, Jam Saifuallah Khan, Zamir Hussain Ghumro, Muhammad TallalBadar, Abdul Wasay, Muhammad Qasim and Samina Mumtaz Zehri.
Officials from relevant departments were also in attendance.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024