Mismanaged affair: Encroachments hamper patients’ entry to BBH

Construction of metro bus project blamed for the mess.

RAWALPINDI: Illegal parking and encroachments outside the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) have created a nuisance for patients and hampered their daily movement in and around the hospital.

Citizens have urged relevant authorities to immediately take notice of the situation and remove the encroachments outside the hospital.

Manzoor Ahmad, a patient in the hospital’s emergency ward, told The Express Tribune that he had to wait for half an hour to enter the hospital because of the traffic jam caused by encroachments and illegal parking outside the hospital.

“We were stuck outside the hospital but had no other option but to wait,” he said, adding that they had to enter from the exit gate of the hospital in order to get in.

Bashir Riaz said his brother was admitted in the hospital for two days and it was an ordeal to come to the hospital regularly due to the blockade outside. “At peak hours, pedestrians cannot even cross the road easily,” he remarked.

Fruit vendors’ pushcarts and illegal parking of taxis, vans and rickshaws outside the hospital is a source of trouble for patients and their relatives.

Traffic wardens, who are seldom found performing their duties, have also failed to improve the situation for the patients.

In defence of his peers, traffic warden Muhammad Rizwan said wardens are doing their duty sincerely but patients and their relatives have to face difficulties due to the ongoing construction for the metro bus outside BBH.

Though he accepted that people parked their vehicles outside the hospital illegally, he added that wardens were always working to remove the vehicles parked in no-parking zones. “The construction material has also been placed outside the hospital which is also a source of the trouble,” he added.

It may be noted that due to metro bus project, the hospital administration had decided to open the entry gate of the hospital on Rawal road and the exit gate on a road adjacent to the hospital but no step has been taken so far in this direction.

In regard to what the hospital administration has done to amend the situation, BBH Medical Superintendent Dr Asif Qadir Mir said the hospital has repeatedly requested wardens and district administration to remove illegal encroachments and parking but they have failed to rectify the situation.

“The patients have to suffer a lot due to traffic jams,” he said. While talking about the proposed entry gate on Rawal road, he said the construction of the gate would start in around 15 days.

He further stated that at present, it was of no use to construct a gate as workers are excavating the area to lay down gas pipelines and underground electricity wires which has delayed the hospital to take any step.

BBH Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Anayat said the hospital authorities and patients have been facing difficulties since the construction work for the metro project started. “To add to this, illegal parking and encroachments have made matters worse which has not only created problems for the patients but also the hospital staff”.

He added that almost 3,000 patients visit the hospital along with their relatives on a daily basis and it is imperative to clear the roads from these encroachments in order to provide relief to the people.

“The patients are often in a critical situation and they have to take another gate to enter the hospital because of the illegal occupations,” he said. Vehicles are parked even in front of no-parking signs, he added.

Another on duty doctor, on the condition of anonymity, said a number of private ambulances have also occupied most of the space outside the hospital illegally. He added that the Suzuki stand on the opposite side of the road is also a main reason for traffic jams.

“These encroachers are playing with the lives of patients,” said the doctor, urging the city district government to devise a plan to resolve the issue immediately.

Explaining his point of view, the driver of a Suzuki van, Muhammd Anwar, said the stand was in its place but the present clogging was due to the ongoing construction of the metro bus project.

When contacted, Rawal Town Municipal Officer Sardar Tashfeen refused to discuss the matter while District Coordination Officer Sajid Zafar Dal suggested that regular monitoring could improve the situation and end encroachments and illegal parking.

He added that the city district government had constituted a team comprising the town administration, city traffic police, Rawalpindi Development Authority and police to address the issue of encroachments and illegal parking. He accepted that some laxity was displayed on part of the team during the recent days but he would immediately direct the relevant authorities to remove the encroachments outside BBH.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd, 2014.