RAWALPINDI:
As part of the underground cabling and beautification project in Raja Bazaar, adjacent to the historic Fawara Chowk, utility agencies have issued demand notices totalling Rs 223.3 million to the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC).
The agencies include the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).
Following the completion of a similar project in Saddar’s commercial areas and the conversion of Bank Road into a pedestrian-only street, the RMC has approved similar plans for Raja Bazaar and Commercial Market.
In the first phase, IESCO issued a demand notice of Rs185 million, SNGPL Rs30 million, WASA Rs5 million, and PTCL Rs3.3 million.
Work on civil infrastructure and network shifting will commence once payments are made, after which beautification efforts will be undertaken by the municipal corporation itself.
Meanwhile, demand notices for the Commercial Market project are yet to be received.
Separately, the corporation has floated tenders worth Rs950 million for carpeting, expansion, and redesigning of 14 roads across the city, with work set to begin after Eidul Azha.
In another development, the old Rose Cinema building — constructed before the creation of Pakistan and located in front of Fawara Chowk — has been demolished after lease expiry and the lifting of a court stay.
The site, measuring one kanal and eight marlas, is now under the corporation’s control and has been earmarked for a multi-storey parking plaza.
The proposal has been sent to the Punjab government for final approval. Additionally, another five-storey parking facility is planned on the site of the former municipal office near Fawara Chowk, where an incomplete three-storey RDA parking plaza already exists.
The structural design for the new facility has been prepared, and cost estimation is underway.
With three parking plazas in the Fawara Chowk vicinity, the corporation anticipates improved traffic flow and enhanced parking options for shoppers in the commercial district.
Chief officer Imran Ali stated that the corporation is focused on upgrading road infrastructure and completing the two ongoing underground cabling and beautification projects to provide citizens with improved facilities.
