Over the past few years, the surroundings of Bhara Kahu have seen a surge in the population, but the road congestion was not addressed along the way. In addition, the increasing tourism has also contributed to the flow of traffic across a road and has brought several problems for the locals. People are also forced to use private vehicles for transport because of the lack of any decent public transport. This has also increased traffic flow, especially during rush hours in the morning and evening. Tourists who used to visit Murree or Muzaffarabad usually face traffic congestion issues on weekends on this road. This traffic jam is often kilometres long, resulting in severe roadblocks in Bara Kahu.
To address the issue of traffic jams in Bhara Kahu, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has planned to construct a bypass road. The project for making this bypass has been awarded to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO). It is a 7.8-km-long bypass, part of the Margalla Road project, designed to provide alternative routes to Murree, Galya and Kashmir commuters. The proposed bypass will start from the Malpur area and culminate near Satra Meel on Murree Road. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the project’s foundation stone last year. The project has been divided into two parts, first from GT road Sangjani to D-12, and the second is Bhara Kahu bypass. Around 70 per cent of work on the first phase has already been completed.
Recently, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has requested the Frontier Work Organisation (FWO) to submit a draft PC-I of the Bhara Kahu bypass project, as it has been facing inordinate delay. The delay in the start of this project has been causing unrest among citizens as they suffer traffic congestion in the Bhara Kahu area while travelling to Murree and Azad Kashmir. The residents of Bhara Kahu and other adjoining areas have urged the authorities to initiate the project on a priority basis, mentioning the project as the need of the hour.
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