Illegal parking returns to district courts

Ambulances remain stuck in traffic as parking congestion paralyses movement

RAWALPINDI:

Despite the construction of an extensive underpass and an overhead bridge around the District Courts, illegal parking has once again taken over the area.

Claims that the underpass and overhead bridge would bring traffic and parking under complete control have failed to materialise.

Parking for thousands of motorcycles and dozens of cars, stretching from the main gate of the District Courts to the old petrol pump, has once again brought traffic movement to a standstill.

Passing through the area has become difficult, particularly during office hours and at closing time. Heavy traffic congestion has become routine during two peak periods, from 8am to 10am and from 1:30pm to 2:30pm.

Long queues of vehicles belonging to the Green Transport bus service and other routes, along with dozens of wagons, Suzuki vans and Bykea motorcycles, have also become a common sight.

At the time of the underpass's construction, it was announced that parking would be completely prohibited in the area and that a large commercial parking plaza would be built in the Jinnah Park area at a cost of Rs1 billion.

However, even after six months, work on the project has not begun. Consequently, the parking of cars and motorcycles has returned to its old location near the main entrance of the District Courts.

The administration has now also awarded an expensive parking contract for roadside parking. The contractor has started charging Rs100 for a motorcycle and Rs200 for a car. Disputes between the contractor and lawyers and litigants over the charges have become a separate problem.

Meanwhile, illegal parking in front of the main entrance of the District Courts has completely paralysed traffic, with ambulances also frequently getting stuck.

Litigants Qaiser Ali, Feroz and Nazakat said there was no parking facility anywhere in the court premises. They said around 25,000 litigants, employees, lawyers and clerks visited the courts daily and questioned where they were supposed to park their motorcycles and cars.

They demanded that the commercial parking plaza, included in the District Courts underpass project, be completed immediately.

Otherwise, they warned, congestion caused by thousands of vehicles and motorcycles would persist on all four sides of the court premises, traffic would remain jammed and the underpass project would also fail to achieve its objectives.

President of the District Bar Association, Malik Tariq Mahmood Sajid Awan, said the issue of parking encroachments had been raised forcefully with the competent authority. He said the association strongly demanded construction of the commercial plaza at Jinnah Park.