GUJRANWALA – Myopic approach by the administration and police along with ruthless attitude of political and religious groups has left the commuters in an awful condition on GT Road as everyone blocks this central road to record protests.
Kashmir Solidarity Day, although a national day to express solidarity with the people of Kashmir but none of the local political or religious groups could express solidarity and more than a dozen large and small processions blocked the city.
The gridlock often affects mobilisation of ambulances and other emergency services in the city, leaving patients and injured people in miserable conditions without any relief while the administration, human rights activists and political/religious parties rarely bother about this situation.
It is the duty of the Gujranwala commissioner and the city police officer (CPO) to maintain traffic mobilisation, especially on GT Road but up till now it has never been learnt from their end to chalk out any strategy or enforce the law to maintain traffic at the most important route of the city.
In the past, such agitations were held in Sheranwala Bagh or Liaquat Park so that the traffic flow could not be affected, but for the current situation, nobody has taken any administrative step to facilitate the commuters. Most of the protest demonstrations do not attract the general public and often only a few dozens or hundred workers of such parties or factions participate in these rallies. That is why these protesters come out at GT Road to show their strength.
A large security is deployed to protect the lesser number of such protesters, creating a great difficulty for the general public. If the administration is unable to administer its authority, it should request or convince such groups not to block traffic on roads, especially on GT Road.
Jamaat-e-Islami, Shabab-e-Milli, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, Sunni Tehrik and some of student outfits are habitual of creating mess on GT Road while Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) too put their share into it to show their presence at a number of occasions. The leadership of these groups has never bothered to solve the problems of the general public and their ruthlessness has created hatred for them among the masses.
A comprehensive policy should be adopted in this regard so that the commuters can be facilitated and violators be booked by promulgating the rule of law.
