Jam-packed animals cause traffic jams

Authorities unable to control the large number of vendors roaming their animals in the city.

RAWALPINDI: Traffic in the city came to a halt on Wednesday when vendors began moving sacrificial animals freely on roads across the city.

Roads leading to Committee Chowk weekly bazaar, Shamsabad, Satellite Town, Dhoke Kala Khan, Pandora Chungi and Chungi No 22 bazaars were crowded with vehicles unable to move forward as vendors had thronged the avenues with their sacrificial animals. The vendors also left trails of animal filth wherever they took their animals.

Town Municipal Authority (TMA) officials said the situation could not be controlled due to the large number of vendors freely roaming sacrificial animals in the city. Even the police were left helpless before the violators. “Such free movement of the animals at main avenues is especially dangerous for motorists,” said Sultan Rao, worker of an NGO.

The visitors at the weekly bazaars also complained over heaps of animal filth in the area.

“Besides providing essential commodities to the people at controlled rates at weekly bazaars, the authorities concerned are also responsible for maintaining cleanliness,” said Muneeb Rehman, a resident of Dhoke Kala Khan, Shamsabad.

The visitors said such conditions had exposed them to the risk of diseases.

However, Town Municipal Officer, Shehzad Haider said that TMA had deployed its sanitation staff around the city. He said that following the directions of Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif city administration has chalked out a comprehensive plan to upgrade the condition of weekly bazzars.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2010.