Provincial parliamentary secretary Dr Saeed Elahi has disclosed that the Kalma Chowk, on Ferozepur Road, will be closed for traffic for 20 days from Wednesday (December 19) for the constructing of an underpass purpose. While addressing a press conference on Tuesday, he advised the commuters to use alternate routes. He told the newsmen that construction of the seven-lane underpass will be completed by January 31, 2013, at a cost of Rs 1.76 billion.

"The construction work will create inconvenience to the people, but in the long run it will provide huge relief from traffic congestion in future," he added. Dr Elahi said Kalma Chowk was the busiest crossing of Lahore, where total volume of traffic reached to 400,000 vehicles per day. "Keeping in view the public problems, the Punjab government constructed Flyover along Ferozepur Road last year, which provided substantial relief to the intercity as well as intra-city traffic movements," he added.

"However, the Main Boulevard Gulberg and Garden Town being main approaches to the major markets on both sides also attracts lot of traffic, which resulted in traffic jams on the junction. To ease out traffic at the junction and to give relief to public, the Punjab government decided to construct an underpass along the Main Boulevard Gulberg and Garden Town. After completion of the underpass only two stage signal will be operated," he added.

He also clarified that the cost of metro bus service project will be Rs 29.80 billion and not more than that; the opposition quoting wrong figures to mislead the people and thus gain political mileage. "Initially, the motorway was also criticised, but later the same critics used the facility," he added. Commissioner Lahore Jawad Rafique Malik and senior officials were also present at the occasion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2012