Shangla – Construction work on the vital Alpurai Board-to-Puran Road has come to a halt, triggering widespread anger among residents and transporters, who have announced a wheel-jam strike for Friday in protest.
Locals alleged that the contractor had forcibly stopped work on the important road. Despite the suspension, they said, the relevant authorities and district administration had taken no effective action, leaving the public to face severe hardships.
The Alpurai Board-to-Puran Road has long served as a crucial route for the people of the area. However, prolonged delays in its construction and the current deadlock have made life extremely difficult for local residents, commuters, students, patients, and transporters.
“With construction work suspended, the condition of the road is feared to deteriorate further. Daily commuters are facing serious difficulties in travelling, along with additional expenses,” residents said.
Community members added that they had repeatedly brought the issue to the attention of relevant departments and officials, but no permanent solution had been provided so far.
Protesters argued that if a contractor or construction company halts work on any development project, the concerned department and administration should immediately take notice and provide relief to the public.
Announcing their next course of action, residents and transporters said that if construction work on the Board-to-Puran Road was not resumed immediately, a wheel-jam strike would be observed on Friday. They appealed to all drivers, transporters, and local residents to participate in the protest.
“The time for silence is over. If we do not raise our voice today for our basic rights and facilities, we will continue to face the same situation in the future,” the protesters said.
They clarified that the purpose of the protest was not to target any individual or institution, but to demand the immediate resumption of road construction and an end to the hardships faced by the public.
The demonstrators urged the relevant departments, district administration, and elected political representatives to take immediate notice of the matter. They demanded that the progress of the road project and the reasons for the halt in work be made public and that responsibility be fixed.
“Citizens have the right to be given complete information about development projects, and projects initiated with public funds must be completed on time,” they said.
Raising slogans against the alleged contractor mafia, negligent administration, and incompetent political leadership, the locals warned that if their demands were not met, the scope of the protest would be expanded and a future course of action would be announced after consultation.
The people of the area appealed to drivers, transporters, traders, and other affected citizens to participate in Friday’s protest and wheel-jam strike, saying, “If not now, then when?”
They warned that the relevant authorities must resolve the issue immediately; otherwise, they said, responsibility for any resulting situation would lie with the concerned departments and administration.
