Traffic gridlocks swamp city
Citizens were stuck in hours-long gridlocks on Ferozepur Road and other major arteries of the city. photo: Awais Bashir/Express
Several busy roads of the provincial capital witnessed the worst traffic gridlocks on Friday.
A large number of people associated with government departments, business organisations and educational institutions having off days on Saturday and Sunday leave or enter the city on Friday evening to spend the weekend.
Thousands of commuters, traders, employees and residents of areas surrounding the affected routes suffered hardship.
Problems caused by the closure of Mall Road, Jail Road, Gulberg Main Boulevard and Ferozpur Road as part of a security plan were were exacerbated because of disruption of traffic flow on some other main roads of the city due to accidents.
There was also a high flux of traffic on the entry and exit points of the city on the eve of the weekend.
Read: Commuters suffer traffic jams on University Road
A traffic jam took place on Walton Road, causing severe disruption in movement of vehicles on Ferozpur Road and towards the DHA Society owning to a large number of citizens trying to enter the posh locality where some big shopping malls and entertainment points are located.
The commuters remained stranded for a long time in long queues of vehicles n the roads.
Traffic congestion on Ferozpur Road and towards Firdous Market was already high due to security arrangements at Gaddafi Stadium, but the commuters on Walton Road got stuck between two roads having ha high number of vehicles travelling on them.
A traffic officer shared with The Express Tribune that major traffic congestion was reported near Niazi Ada towards Babu Sabu Interchange. It a major entry and exit point of the city that houses one of its biggest transport hubs.
The traffic problem resulted from a high number of passengers travelling to and from the city turning up on eve of the weekend.
Breakdown of a truck on Multan Road near Chauburji complicated the problem as drivers diverted to Babu Sabu because of the hindrance in traffic.
Babu Sabu Interchange is adjacent to Band Road, another major artery connecting the Ring Road to the motorway as well Multan Road and Saggian Ravi Bridge, another entry and exit point of the city.
Traffic pressure around Data Darbar is routine owing to the large number of devotees visiting the shrine and the presence of educational institutions and business hubs nearby. The number of visitors increases substantially on Fridays.
Other points of traffic jam in the city included Ichra Bridge, Avari Chowk, Mall Road Bridge and Liberty Roundabout.
A truck was stranded near Shah Jamal after an accident, while another accident affecting traffic flow was reported at Shah Di Khui.
The commuters remained stranded for long periods of time. Bumper-to-bumper traffic was witnessed on most of the major roads.
The traffic disruption at some points lasted several hours, forcing citizens to find alternative routes to reach their destinations.
On the other hand, the traffic police said they had made stringent arrangements and deployed additional staff to maintain the flow of traffic.
Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Muntazir Mehdi said he had visited several roads of the city to monitor the situation.
He said roads were closed for a few minutes for the movement of cricket teams.
The official said the traffic police had ensured that the main routes of the city, including Canal Road, Jail Road, Wahdat Road, MM Alam Road, Main Boulevard and Ferozpur Road, remained open.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2022.