Lowari should be road tunnel

Dawn

By Zar Alam Khan

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Communication is seriously considering making Lowari Tunnel a road passage instead of laying railway track in it as planned originally.
This was stated by PPP Chitral chapter leader Wing Cdr (retired) Fardad Ali Shah while talking to this correspondent after holding a meeting with Federal Minister for Communication Dr Arbab Alamgir and the officials of the National Highway Authority (NHA) on Tuesday.
“The federal minister said he personally had a feeling that road traffic instead of railway through the Lowari Tunnel would be more appropriate,” Mr Shah said.
The PPP leader thanked the government and its executing agency, the NHA, for constructing the tunnel, but said it would be imprudent to marginalise the usage of the tunnel by restricting it to a mini-rail tunnel despite spending billions of rupees.
He said the NHA chairman also assured him during the meeting that his recommendation would be seriously considered and best decision in the interest of the people and the area would be taken.
He said even if the phenomenal purchase cost of the rail system was to be overlooked, the railway dispensation would be a white elephant and an obstruction to smooth flow of traffic, always under the threat of breakdowns, mismanagement and operating lacunas.
He mentioned over two dozens road tunnels of over 10 kilometres length (some even narrower than the Lowari Tunnel) including the 24-kilometre-long Laerdal road tunnel in Norway which were functioning successfully.
Mr Shah said experience showed that even bulldozers clearing snow from the Lowari roads could not be maintained properly as after every two days of operations they become unserviceable for next one week and lacked maintenance.
“So how can a sophisticated railway system be expected to be operated efficiently in that remote place,” he added.
He insisted that the tunnel be kept simple, adding if we do not take right decision now we would be regretting later after wasting billions of rupees from the national exchequer unnecessarily.