Plying diesel-run buses on the dedicated track, most of it elevated, in one of the most polluted portions of the city is expected to invite criticism from the public, sections of which are already resisting acquisition of land for the project.
The authorities at the helm of affairs have already succumbed to the pressure by the Ferozepur Road traders who had said a big ‘No’ to the idea of sharing their land for the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) track that was to be built in the middle of the thoroughfare. In view of the refusal, the authorities have now planned to extend the elevated track from Ferozepur Road’s canal inter-section to Bhati instead of the earlier Qartaba Chowk to Bhati Gate area.
The plan to use the Government College University (GCU) property for the project is also drawing criticism from the varsity’s faculty, students and the alumni who have vowed to foil any such attempt come what may.
The varsity administration has written letters to the chief secretary and the chief minister asking them to withdraw the decision to use property of the esteemed historic educational institution for the BRTS. The Old Ravian Union has also threatened to make a human chain if their alma mater gets affected by the project.
The Ittehad Bainul Muslimeen, a religious body, is also opposing the project. It has displayed posters on the Lower Mall saying it would resist the elevated bus track as it was tantamount to desecrating Karbala Gamey Shah and the nearby shrine of the patron saint of Lahore, Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh.
Responding to a query by this reporter, Transport Secretary Muhammad Yousuf revealed that diesel-run buses would be plied on the dedicated track.
When he was asked as to how the government would ensure uninterrupted CNG supply to these buses, especially in view of demand from different quarters to divert the gas towards industry and energy production, the secretary said an appeal had been filed in a court seeking directions for provision of gas to the buses to be run in other Punjab cities. So far as Lahore was concerned there would be diesel buses, he said.
And when asked about the environmental impact of the diesel-run buses, he said they would be ‘environment-friendly’. He, however, kept mum when asked how people, especially those living in the congested residential-cum-commercial areas like Lytton Road, would breath after the elevated track goes functional.
Mr Yousuf and Mr Sibtain Fazle Haleem, a retired top bureaucrat recently engaged for the project, say that major stakeholders –the people of the areas falling under the project, were consulted before its launch. The secretary said that an advertisement was placed in newspapers to seek public opinion on the proposed project.
The secretary had no answer to the question as to why the GCU administration was kept in the dark about the plan to use the varsity land for the project.
The secretary said all paperwork, including viability reports, PC-I and environment report were prepared before launching the project. His claim is contested by many in the government service and otherwise.Mr Yousuf and Mr Haleem said there was no undue haste in executing the project and they did not know when it would be completed.
The pace of work on the city roads, nevertheless, suggests that someone is in a hurry if they both are not
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