Little regard for social distancing: Traffic snarl-ups in twin cities' markets

SOPs thrown to the winds as authorities, volunteers missing

RAWALPINDI/ ISLAMABAD: The loosening of the lockdown in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi led to massive traffic snarl-ups in the two cities on Monday.

Moreover, markets bustled with people with little regard for social distancing or other standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The Express Tribune witnessed that the Corona Relief Tiger Force (CRTF) as well as the district administration failed to achieve their targets of ensuring that the people follow the SOPs. Some people became alert on seeing the volunteers approach, but returned to carefree intermingling as soon as the CRTF volunteers were out of sight.

With relaxation in the lockdown for shopping centres, various stallholders and pushcart vendors took up perch in different markets of the federal capital including at Khanna Pull, Karachi Company, Kurri Road, Aabpara Market.

The encroachment also caused traffic congestion in these markets.

The traffic in the federal capital also remained disrupted and the traffic police failed to control motorists. Traffic snarl-ups were witnessed on different thoroughfares of the federal capital including the Islamabad Expressway.

In Rawalpindi, chaos was witnessed on the roads as thousands of people thronged markets to shop for Eidul Fitr. Markets remained crowded with shoppers who did not implement social distancing or any of the other precautionary measures. Even shopkeepers did not pay heed to the precautions. Officials of the district administration were not visible to implement the social distancing protocols or SOPs.

Traffic wardens failed to adequately control impatient motorists who refused to listen to them.

As a result, hours-long traffic snarl-ups were witnessed on main thoroughfares as well as on the link roads including Murree Road, Mall Road, Rawal Road, Peshawar Road, Saidpur Road, Sixth Road, Tipu Road, Arya Mohalla, Bani Chowk, Waris Khan, Kashmiri Bazaar, Jamia Masjid Road, Pandora Road, Liaquat Road, Fawara Chowk and other major intersections.

Many motorists stuck in the traffic for hours in the hot weather quarrelled with each other.

Ambulances and rescue vehicles heading to different hospitals were also stuck in the traffic jam.

Several people who had come out for shopping returned to their homes after seeing the abysmal traffic condition.

Health experts warned that such behaviour in markets could trigger a spike in novel coronavirus (Covid-19) cases. The added that if people do not abide by the SOPs and consider the relaxation in the lockdown as an end to the pandemic.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2020.