President’s visit: Hours-long traffic jams irk Peshawarites

PESHAWAR:

Although a comprehensive traffic plan had been devised ahead of President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to the city, the provincial capital remained blocked for most of the day.

Some areas of Peshawar experienced more than seven hours of traffic jams.

The president was in the provincial capital on Monday to address the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly.

General public, traders, government officials as well as students faced much difficulty in reaching their destinations in the morning, and the situation only worsened by afternoon.

Many people had to leave their vehicles and go on foot to offices as Khyber and Shershah Suri roads on the northern and eastern sides of the provincial assembly were completely blocked for traffic.  This overburdened Charsadda Road, making it hard for people leaving University Town.

Although wardens were present on designated routes to ensure smooth flow of traffic, bottlenecks were reported from all crowded areas of the city, specifically from Khyber Bazaar, University road and Grand Trunk road.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2012.