Protest brings Murree to standstill for hours

MURREE:

Tourists and residents faced severe problems for hours as family and relatives of Dr Talat Mehmood, who was shot dead on Saturday night, placed his body on road and protested in Jhikagali on Sunday.

Those who were in Jhika Gali has to wait for a few hours as traffic came to a complete halt from Jhikagali main chowk to Shahrae-e-Kashmir. However, after negotiations with DSP Traffic, the traffic was restored. Long queues of vehicles were seen on roads.

The protesters chanted slogans against the police and hospital administration over the delay in the post-mortem of the deceased.

The protesters were demanding for the immediate arrest of the accused.

According to the police, Dr Mehmood was in charge of the NIH laboratory located in Chak Shehzad, Islamabad. He left for home with his son after offering Isha prayers at a mosque near his house to attend a Jirga. As per FIR, a jirga was being held to settle a domestic dispute between him and a family.

After the shooting incident, Dr Mehmood was rushed to THQ Hospital Murree with the help of Rescue 1122 workers, but he died on the way. The police reached the spot and collected the bullet shells and other evidence from the crime scene.

Tourists throng Murree

Dil Nawaz, a tourist from Lahore, who was enjoying the weather of the hill station, said that after suffering from the heat and humidity of Lahore, the pleasant weather of Murree is nothing less than a blessing. He added that he had arrived with his family to take a break from sweltering heat.

Another tourist named Altaf Hameed said that the traffic management in Murree has improved this time, which has increased the enjoyment of the trip.

Meanwhile, City Traffic Officer (CTO) Rawalpindi, Naveed Irshad, has advised the tourists travelling to Murree and other hill stations to follow traffic rules to avoid traffic congestion and road mishaps.

He urged the motorists to strictly follow the traffic rules and avoid wrong and double parking on the roads of Murree to avoid blockage of traffic. The CTO said that the traffic wardens had been directed to take strict action in accordance with the law against the violators.

He said that a control room had been set up at the Headquarters to monitor the situation while a helpline 1915 and 051-9269200 for Murree has also been set up. All-out efforts were being made to control traffic in Murree, he said. He informed that although there was a parking facility of 3,500 vehicles in Murree, however, thousands of vehicles enter the hill station, particularly on weekends in the summer season.

He further informed that the CTP had designated several points for car parking in Murree. A number of main roads including Kashmir Point, Mall Road, Guldana Road, and other roads had been closed for two-way traffic to ease the overall flow.

Irshad urged the tourists to cooperate with traffic police so that any sort of blockage could be avoided.

"The beautiful climate of Murree during summer attracts a large number of tourists so the motorists face severe traffic obstruction," he said, adding that traffic moves even slower due to heavy traffic load.

Special arrangements

On the other hand side, CTP formulated special arrangements to facilitate the tourists, coming to Murree. A comprehensive plan had also been devised to facilitate the tourists during the summer season, he said, adding that they had deployed senior traffic officers of the CTP to monitor traffic arrangements in the hill station to ensure smooth and safe traffic flow.

A dedicated, emergency helpline 051-9269200, had also been introduced for the tourists that could be used round the clock.

The CTO advised the tourists to avoid taking selfies in the middle of the roads. An enhanced number of traffic wardens under the supervision of senior traffic officers had been deployed to monitor traffic and guide the tourists, he added.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2022.