Murree welcomes crowds during holidays

Roads on Tuesday and Wednesday remain jam-packed with a stream of vehicles

RAWALPINDI:

The 'Queen of the Mountains' Murree, which is the most famous hill station in Punjab, attracted a large number of tourists during Eidul Azha holidays, particularly as the citizens reached Murree from different areas to enjoy the pleasant weather.

On the first day of Eid, people remained busy greeting relatives, friends, and near and dear ones and rushed to different parks, Murree, Ayubia, Nathigali, and Patriata Chair Lift, on the second and third days of Eid, to enjoy the Eid festivity. Murree Road, particularly on Tuesday and Wednesday, remained jam-packed with a stream of vehicles after tourists, especially from the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, and other adjoining areas, thronged Murree, Ayubia, and Nathia Gali hill stations to beat the heat and enjoy Eid vacations.

From Dhokri Chowk to Bhara Kahu and Chatter Park, the road was jam-packed with vehicles moving at snails' pace. Rawalpindi district administration had finalised all the arrangements to ensure the security of the visitors and facilitate them, particularly during Eidul Azha holidays.

According to a police administration spokesman, City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi Syed Khalid Mehmood Hamdani had directed the relevant officers to make the best possible efforts to avoid traffic mess on the roads and any untoward incidents. The spokesman said that special teams had een formed to facilitate the tourists, adding that parking of the vehicles was not allowed outside the parking areas. There was a complete ban on illegal parking in Murree.

"The beautiful climate of Murree during the summer attracts a large number of tourists, so motorists face traffic congestion," he said, adding that traffic moves slower due to heavy traffic loads as compared to normal days. He said the CPO had advised the tourists to avoid wrong parking, double lines, speeding, and taking selfies in the middle of the roads. He said a special plan had been formulated for Murree under which over 1,000 personnel, including over 700 cops and over 300 CTP officials, were performing their duties to facilitate the visitors.

The Jawans of Murree Tourism Police were also present at different points for the convenience and protection of the tourists, he added. The district administration, district police, and CTP, on the directive of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, had taken solid steps to ease traffic flow and facilitate tourists in Murree.The officers of the district administration, district police, and CTP were present in the field to monitor the situation. All possible steps were being taken to ease traffic flow and ensure smooth flow of traffic on the roads of Murree, he added.

Senior police officers, including SP Saddar, SDPO Murree, and DSP Traffic Murree, were present in Murree and reviewed all the arrangements.

SP Saddar visited different areas and checked all the arrangements, he added.

Due to solid steps taken by the relevant authorities, traffic flow was totally under control in Murree, he said, adding that "Murree has parking space for only 3,500 vehicles and urged the tourists to observe traffic rules to avoid traffic mess or any untoward incident.