Traffic jams disrupt life in Pindi

Double and wrong parking termed main cause of logjams

RAWALPINDI:

The worst traffic jams on the main thoroughfares of the city and cantonment areas have disrupted daily life of the commuters. People are spending at least two to three hours in traffic jams each day, a commuter told The Express Tribune during a survey. “Once going to work and then going back home, people waste time stuck in traffic,” he said.

The worst traffic jams occur on Murree Road, Mall Road, Saddar Road, Gawalmandi, Liaquat Road, Iqbal Road, College Road, Raja Bazaar, Kashmiri Bazar, Tench Bhatta, Airport Road, Saidpur Road and other thoroughfares throughout the day. Due to the absence of traffic officers on the main roads, the citizens are left to control the traffic on their own.

Ambulances and other rescue vehicles heading to hospitals also face severe difficulties due to the worst traffic jams. People traveling in the inner city suffer from severe anxiety and even panic attacks. Citizens of the garrison city have demanded from the Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to resolve the traffic problems of Rawalpindi.

Meanwhile, City Traffic Police (CTP) senior traffic officer of Rawalpindi has directed the traffic wardens to take strict action against parking rules violators, encroachment, under age drivers, one-wheelers and vehicles running without proper number plates. Senior Traffic Officer (STO) Syed Abbas Shah has directed all the DSPs, Sector In-charges and Inspectors to launch crackdown against the traffic rules violators and take strict action in accordance with the law, a CTP spokesman said.

Action in accordance with the law was also being taken against double and wrong parking in Raja Bazaar, Murree Road, Peshawar Road, Saddar, Banni, Sadiqabad, Pindora and other areas as parking rules violators create trouble for other road users and disturb the smooth traffic flow. The spokesman further said 1,496 drivers found indulged in double parking and wrong parking were challaned while 1,268 under age drivers and 3,614 drivers without driving licenses were fined.

He urged the citizens to cooperate with traffic wardens as they are on the roads to facilitate them. A special squad is available to help and facilitate the citizens on helpline 1915, he said. He said that the STO was briefed in detail about the traffic situation and the traffic plan devised to regulate traffic on city roads.

The STO said the vehicles and motorcycles of the violators particularly on severe violation should be impounded without any discrimination. He said that city traffic police in their efforts for the smooth flow of traffic on city roads were making all out efforts. Special campaigns were also launched and grand operations were conducted against the violators including under age drivers and the drivers who were on roads without driving licenses.