Punjab govt slamed by own MPs for mass transit road chaos in Gujranwala

GUJRAT: The PML-N lawmakers from Gujranwala have criticised the district administration for creating a mess for the masses by digging the road infrastructure at once on the 32km long route of mass transit system.

Official sources said a high level meeting of the departments concerned and the incumbent and former lawmakers of the PML-N was held at the Commissioner Office to review the progress of the project.

Former Punjab chief secretary Zahid Saeed, former federal minister Khurram Dastgir Khan, Commissioner Naveed Haider Sheerazi, Deputy Commissioner Naveed Ahmed and others were also among the participants.

A former MPA Taufeeq Butt and some other participants also raised questions about the strategy of digging the whole route at once, terming it against common sense and a recipe to disturb the traffic flow.

He said the executing agency could have planned it in phases of 10km to save the people from facing hardships. He added that even the traffic police had completely failed to tackle the huge traffic jams which had been a common occurrence across Gujranwala as the distance of a few minutes was taking at least an hour or more.

Former CS Zahid Saeed on behalf of the Punjab government said the project would be completed within its stipulated time and would upgrade the standards of lives of people. He directed the departments concerned to ensure the quality, transparency and fast pace of the project.

It may be recalled that the project is to be built between Kamoke to Gakhar Mandi towns of Gujranwala at the cost of Rs62bn and its foundation stone was laid by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Dec 5.

Official sources said the project's stipulated time for the completion was not more than 12 months.

However, the pace of work slowed down during the last couple of months.

The whole route includes four major urban towns, namely Gujranwala city, Kamoke, Rahwali and Gakhar Mandi, while the traffic from Wazirabad, Gujrat and right from Islamabad/Rawalpindi also use that track.

The people of the whole Gujranwala region have been facing a very tough situation while traveling towards that portion of GT road which is affecting their businesses and routine activities.

The business fraternity of Gujranwala, Gujrat and Wazirabad districts have urged CM Sharif to look into the issue.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2026