I would urge the IG Islamabad to approach the mayor and request compensation to the dead man’s family
RAWALPINDI: A young man on a high speed motorbike recently lost his life when he tried to negotiate a plastic barrier at night and instead hit a concrete barrier, which spliced his bike into two. He was unable to maintain control because of the strong lights used with CCTV cameras, which momentarily blind commuters, and because the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) is forced to use plastic and cement barriers for want of fish belly U-turns, which is a responsibility of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
I am privy to the fact that the ITP has constantly been approaching the CDA to install U-turns but it has not budged for reasons best known to it. We heard a lot about the Safe City Project about which Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan touted that he would remove annoying barriers and check posts. The CCTV cameras were installed a while ago, yet, we have to undergo the agony of slowing down and negotiating these barriers at check posts. On some days, the snail-paced traffic lines extend three to four kilometres from the Faizabad check post and it takes me two hours from Rawalpindi to reach my office in Islamabad. The cameras are useless because these do not serve the purpose for which they were installed — identification.
I earnestly request the mayor of Islamabad, the IG Islamabad and Nadra officials to jointly resolve the core issues highlighted to ease the lives of thousands of people who are affected daily. Additionally, I would urge the IG Islamabad to approach the mayor and request compensation to the dead man’s family.
Major (retd) Talaat Khurshid
Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2016.
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