Zig-Zag Road Shame: Sindh Built Road Around Poles, CM Now Thanks Media

*Hyderabad’s Viral Zig-Zag Road: 50 Poles Removed After Media Outcry*

*”Sindh’s Zig-Zag Road: CM Admits Failure, Says ‘No One Was Listening'”*

CM Sindh’s confessional statement exposes total governance collapse – Federal, Provincial and Cantonment departments refused to listen, HESCO took money twice but didn’t move poles

HYDERABAD/KARACHI :
It sounds like a joke, but it is not. In Hyderabad, the Sindh government actually built a fully carpeted road in a zig-zag pattern around 50+ high-voltage electricity poles left standing in the middle of the road. The video went viral globally. Pakistan was mocked. And only then did the system wake up.

Now, in a startling public confession, the Chief Minister of Sindh himself has admitted his own helplessness, thanked mainstream and social media for highlighting the scandal, and revealed a shocking tale of inter-departmental anarchy.

*1. The Confession: CM Says “No One Was Listening To Me”*

In a statement that should be taught as a case study of state failure, the Chief Minister Sindh said:

_”On determining the limits of the site for shifting the poles from the middle of the road, neither the Cantonment Board was listening to us, nor the Federal Government and HESCO. We had deposited money with HESCO many years ago, then deposited money again, but they did not budge. Since there was public pressure to build the road, the road had to be built.”_

This is not an opposition allegation. This is the Chief Executive of the province admitting on record that his government paid HESCO twice, for years, to shift poles, and HESCO refused to move. The Cantonment Board and the Federal Government also refused to decide jurisdiction.

So, what was the solution of the Sindh Works Department? Build the road anyway — around the poles. A death trap for any motorist at night.

*2. The Model of Governance: “Now We Will Use Media”*

In an even more unique logic, the CM said he has now become a “believer in this model.”

_”Thank God, the media, the federal government and institutions listened and immediate action was taken. Now we have learned that for immediate solution of such matters, help of media should be sought. We will seek media’s help in many other such pending issues.”_

Translation: The government of Sindh cannot get a federal power company to shift poles even after paying twice, cannot get its own Cantonment Board to demarcate land, but if a video goes viral on social media, HESCO moves 50 poles in 24 hours.

Is this governance or governance by TikTok?

*3. The Emergency Cover-Up*

After Minute Mirror and other media channels and social media users turned Hyderabad’s Alamdar Chowk to N-5 National Highway road into an international meme, the damage control started:

– *HESCO Action:* Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) started emergency removal. Officials claim 50 poles have been removed and the rest are being removed on a war footing.
– *Shutdown:* Qasimabad Grid Station, Alamdar Chowk was shut down to allow removal.
– *Road Closure:* The newly carpeted zig-zag road has been completely closed for traffic. HESCO admits: _”Time was needed to remove poles, but the carpeting work was done quickly.”_
– *CM Order:* The Chief Minister has now ordered immediate filling of potholes left after pole removal and emergency patchwork to open the road.

In other words, public money was wasted twice — first to build a faulty zig-zag road, now to dig it up, fill potholes, and re-carpet it.

*4. Minute Mirror Investigation: Where is the Money Trail?*

This raises serious questions that the Sindh Government must answer:

1. *Who paid whom?* If money was deposited with HESCO “many years ago” and then “again”, where are the receipts? Who in HESCO took the money and why was the work not done? Is this not criminal breach of trust?
2. *Why the hurry to build?* The CM cites “public pressure.” But why was the road carpeted without getting a No-Objection Certificate from HESCO that poles have been shifted? Which engineer and which contractor certified this road as complete?
3. *Cantonment vs Sindh Govt:* The road is on the boundary of Cantonment Board Hyderabad and Qasimabad Taluka. This is the classic black hole of Hyderabad where both agencies collect taxes but neither takes responsibility. How many other roads in Hyderabad are built like this?
4. *Safety Audit:* Who will be responsible if a motorcyclist had died hitting a pole in the middle of the road at night? There was no reflective paint, no cat-eyes on these poles.

*5. The Bigger Picture: Sindh’s Infrastructure Joke*

This is not the first time. In 2024, a similar road with a transformer in the middle was built in Larkana. In 2025, a road in Karachi’s Korangi was built around a sewerage manhole that stood 3 feet above the road.

Hyderabad’s zig-zag road is just the most visible symptom of a system where Works & Services Department builds roads without utility shifting, HESCO/SEPCO build poles without road alignment, and Cantonment Boards become states within a state.

The Chief Minister’s thank you note to media is actually an indictment of his own government. If media had not highlighted it, Sindh Govt would have inaugurated a road with 50 electric poles in the middle as a “development project.”

*Minute Mirror Demands:*

1. Forensic audit of all payments made to HESCO for pole shifting on Alamdar Chowk – N5 road.
2. Suspension of the Executive Engineer, Qasimabad and the contractor who carpeted the road without clearance.
3. An inquiry against HESCO officials who took money twice and delayed the work for years.
4. A third-party safety audit of all newly built roads in Hyderabad.

Till then, the zig-zag road remains a monument to Pakistan’s governance model — where the Chief Minister has to beg the media to get his own work done from a federal company.