Tirinkot residents pestered by broken, bumpy roads

TIRINKOT (Pajhwok): Residents of Tirinkot, the capital of central Uruzgan province, say they encounter problems while traveling on the city’s potholed and broken roads.

Ismatullah Hayat, a student of the Uruzgan University, told Pajhwok Afghan News: “The asphalt of the road has broken down and people are forced to travel on alternative routes, which is very difficult.”

He said the road was constructed about eight years ago, but currently it was damaged and gave motorists a bumpy ride due to poor quality.

He said they faced great inconvenience while commuting from the city to the university, which was about ten kilometers and sometimes they could not reach the class.

He asked the municipality to pay more attention to the roads and repair the city’s roads.

Ibrahim Jan, a resident of Tirinkot city, said about a month ago, he took his wife, also a heart patient, and their ailing new-born baby to the provincial hospital for treatment, but they could not reach the hospital on time due to the road’s bad condition and their baby died on the way.

Malik Sahib Jan, a resident of Kherkarez area of Tirinkot, also told Pajhwok that the road was built about eight years ago, but corruption was committed in its construction.

He added that they had complained to the previous government that the quality of the road was not good, but no one listened to them.

Officials also acknowledged that the road in the city had damaged and people travelling on it faced problems.

Tirinkot mayor Maulvi Mohammad Rafiq Hanar told Pajhwok: “The blacktopping of this 10-kilometer road was done years ago and widespread corruption was committed at that time.”

He said that the Tirinkot Municipality was planning to reconstruct the city’s main road this year along with many other urban roads.

sa/ma