Traffic largely smooth in twin cities during royal visit

Some pileups witnessed at peak hours on IJP and Murree roads

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD: Traffic in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi remained largely smooth owing to the fact that the government had declared a holiday in the federal capital while diversions were set up to keep traffic from other cities out.

However, measures undertaken by the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) and the Rawalpindi City Traffic Police (RCTP) led to a few episodes of traffic jams at peak hours on Monday.

A large number of vehicles and motorbikes piled up on the roads connecting the twin cities during the peak hours. The jam was witnessed on the IJP Road, Murree Road and other adjoining routes which connect the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad since the main thoroughfares connecting the two cities were closed.

Traffic police teams remained vigilant and were present to guide citizens to make their travel convenient.

The traffic police chiefs of the respective forces monitored the traffic situation throughout the visit of the Saudi dignitary and the high-powered delegation which accompanied him.

Talking to APP, Ahmed Naeem a resident of the federal capital, said that travelling from Rawalpindi towards Islamabad was not a big issue, however, at some places, there were massive traffic jams which trouble for some time. But one way or the other, the traffic kept moving.

An ITP official explained that the FM radio channel of ITP was giving hourly updates about the road situation and special squad at the helpline service continued to inform and facilitate citizens.

In Rawalpindi, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Rawalpindi Mohammad Bin Ashraf personally visited areas where there were log jams and helped clear traffic.

Additional personnel were deployed at the bottlenecks and in areas where there were jams while the traffic police were also patrolling in the city to inspect the flow of traffic.

Moreover, the special squad deployed at the traffic police helpline kept providing assistance and guidance to the citizens regarding the traffic in the city over the two days.

Poor attendance

During the royal visit, government offices in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi presented a desolated look. The markets also appeared to be deserted.

The government had also declared a holiday in schools, meaning there was no usual rush at schools.

Further, the civic bodies also put a stop on their operations against encroachments.

Apart from the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, the rain also limited citizens to their homes. Even though the courts were open, police failed to present under-trial prisoners in Islamabad’s district courts because most officers were deputed to ensure heavy security for the visit of the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2019.