HYDERABAD: Carpeting of a new road and opening it for traffic, despite many electricity poles still standing in the middle of the dual carriageway, has triggered a heated debate on social media as travelers risk life and limb.
Responding to the criticism from people, the Sindh government defended its decision to complete and open the road — connecting Alamdar Chowk with the old National Highway near Qasim Chowk — saying that the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) had been showing lethargy in fulfilling its responsibility of relocating the poles after which such a decision was taken.
The poles carry high-tension lines emanating from near the 132-kV grid station of Qasimabad that feeds a considerably large part of Hyderabad city.
Social media users had uploaded videos of the road dotted with the poles a couple of days back with crispy comments.
CM says carriageway carpeted and opened to force Hesco into relocating transmission lines
The poles existed in their place when the road was being given the first layer of carpeting. Since the two ends of the road were not blocked with barriers, vehicles started plying along it supposing that there was no risk in using it. However, the poles posed a great risk to commuters’ life. Motorists and bike-riders have to drive in a zig-zag manner to avoid hitting the poles.
On Friday, the criticism forced Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to publicly explain that it was Hesco’s responsibility to relocate the poles. The power utility was provided funds for the work, but it did not carry out the work, he said while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the World Culture Festival in Karachi.
The chief minister said there was a major issue of land availability for the construction of the road. The chief secretary, he said, contacted the military estate authorities and got the land use permission.
He explained that as a matter of strategy, the government constructed the road first and restored the traffic so that pressure would come upon Hesco. He pointed out: “As soon as the road was constructed, public pressure increased and Hesco was forced to remove the poles”.
The road is a 1.6km-long dual carriageway which is part of three road projects involving a cost of Rs1.06 billion. It is entirely new for the people of Hyderabad and connects the city’s bypass from the Qasim Chowk road.
Until now used to be known as Ghora Ground, the artery has been converted to an asphalt road, the landscape otherwise being an abandoned waterlogged area used for electricity transmission to Deh Fouj Gah through the poles. The area is located within the administrative territory of the Cantonment Board Hyderabad and Military Estate Office (MEO).
Chief Secretary Sindh Asif Hyder Shah had obtained permission from the two offices to build this road in order to lessen the traffic pressure on Qasim Chowk and Wadhu Wah in Qasimabad. The work on the road project had begun in April this year.
Hyderabad mayor’s spokesman and district administration also had to respond to the criticism from people on social media. Sindh government’s spokesman Sadia Javed clarified the situation, but admitted that there was some sort of negligence seen on the part of the administration and that it should have put up barricades there with warning signs for commuters.
“When development schemes are executed, some issues do crop up,” she maintained.
According to Hesco spokesman Sadiq Kubar, Qasimabad grid station located near Alamdar Chowk feeds electricity to 27 feeders. Of them, 24 pass through this area which used to be an abandoned space until the road scheme was approved.
He said that out of the 27 feeders, 22 have been shifted to new poles and accordingly energised. The remaining five would also be energized, he added. Similarly, he explained, 100 high-transmission lines needed to be shifted and out of them, 50 were positioned in the area until this road project was conceived. He said that relocation of the poles involved a cost of Rs79m. He said that while these 50 poles stood removed from the road, as many others were located along the grid station.
Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner Zainul Abedin Memon, in his response to the issue on Thursday night, said that the road was not formally opened.
He claimed that barricades, cautionary signage and other deterrents were deployed by the executive agency concerned and the traffic police, “but commuters continue to breach them daily”.
He said proximity of Qasimabad grid station with the road necessitated relocation of electricity infrastructure, adding that until Wednesday (Oct 28), 97 poles had been shifted and the remaining ones would be relocated by Nov 10. He said only the ‘base binder course’ was laid; the final wearing (asphalt) course is yet to be laid. He said appropriate compaction is needed since it had previously been a waterlogged area. Thus, he added, ‘binder course’ is laid early.
Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2026
Source: www.dawn.com
