The roads around Gaddafi Stadium suffered heavy traffic jams on Tuesday as the stadium was closed to regular traffic due to the Punjab Sports Festival.
Traffic on Hali Road, Ferozepur Road, Shahrahe Hazrat Imam Hussain and Main Boulevard came to a standstill as all three entrances to Gaddafi Stadium were blocked and only vehicles with special stickers were allowed to enter. Traffic heading from Ferozepur Road to Liberty was diverted towards Kalma Chowk. Congestion had already been an issue in the area due to the high number of road development projects underway in the city.
Sadar Traffic SP Asif Zulfiqar Cheema said that around 200 wardens had been deputed around Gaddafi Stadium. He said that the traffic mess started during the 5pm rush hour while the entrances were blocked at around 2pm.
He said that five types of stickers had been issued to participants for their vehicles, each specifying which gates they were allowed to use. He said many vehicles had tried to enter the stadium from the wrong gate and then argued with wardens when they’d been declined entry, making the situation even more chaotic.
The SP said that many people had wanted to go to the restaurants in Gaddafi Stadium, but they had been closed for the day. He said many of the participants were walking around in Gaddafi Stadium, slowing traffic inside. He said he expected the traffic situation to improve after the chief guest at the event, the chief minister, left the venue. He said that the stadium would be open for general traffic on Wednesday.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 29th, 2012.
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