End of holidays: Wel-don’t-come to Pindi

The closure of petrol and CNG pumps further further increased the miseries of residents of garrison city.

ISLAMABAD:

With pubic transporters unavailable, travellers coming back to Rawalpindi on Sunday at their usual stops, most passengers including women and children covered several miles on foot before reaching their destinations in the city.

People are heading back to Rawalpindi after spending the Muharram holidays in their respective hometowns and cities all across Pakistan.

Huge crowds of passengers were seen at major entry points for the garrison city, most of which had been blocked by the city administration two days ago after sectarian violence broke out in part of the city.

Public transport vehicles coming from motorway were stuck at Chungi No 26 near Tarnol, where hundreds of freight trucks have also been stranded for the last two days on the main road’s carriageway leading to Peshawar Morr. Blockades in the form of containers and trailer-trolleys have also been placed on the road facing Quaid-e-Azam International Hospital.

For those intending to travel to and from the major transport stands in Pirwadhai, Faizabad, Mandi Morr, Saddar and Chungi No 22, the absence of local conveyance and cabs furthered their troubles and left them with no option but to cover the long distance on foot.

Hailing from Faisalabad, 36-year old Saghir said the bus he was travelling on was supposed to drop him at Mandi Morr. “Leaving us at Tarnol Morr, the driver of the bus informed that local transport was still operational. Clearly he was lying,” he added, saying it was impossible for him to travel all the way to Sadiqabad --- a 25-kilometre journey --- on foot.

Topping off the miseries of residents, the closure of petrol and CNG pumps resulted in the disappearance of the few public transport vehicles that were plying IJP Road between Faizabad and Pirwadhai.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2013.