New Garden Town is by far and large considered one of the relatively posh residential areas of Lahore, but residents there are becoming increasingly fed up of the various setbacks the area has had to face over the past few years.
Rapid commercialisation of the main boulevard of NewGardenTown has led to tens of institutions mushrooming across the locality. These institutes, though engaged in a noble venture, have ignobly encroached upon every inch of public space available around their premises and made life extremely difficult for residents inhabiting the area for decades.
Footpaths meant for walking are a convenient parking lot for those attending lectures at these institutes, besides being a hot sales point for various pushcarts laden with eatables.
Though LDA and TEPA leave no stone unturned to highlight their enforcement of commercial laws, this rampant violation on one of the most crowded thoroughfares of the city has gone unchecked for years now, locals say.
The latest in this series of inconvenience is the removal of exits on roads linking residential blocks to the MainBoulevardGardenTown.
“What are the road planners on about? Do they want people to remain confined to their houses? How can they not consider the residents’ right of way while taking such haphazard decisions?” an inflamed resident of Sher Shah Block in NewGardenTown said. “Such developments rather not have come!”
A survey of the area and conversations with residents led Pakistan Today to the fact that following the construction of the Kalma Underpass linking GardenTown with Gulberg, various changes have been made to the road infrastructure around Barkat Market, a crowded commercial hub.
This also included closing down two exits on to the main boulevard, one close to Mughal-e-Azam Banquet Hall and another in front of Shan Arcade in Barkat Market.
“We appreciate the good work, but all of it has been put to waste by making life hell for visitors and residents of blocks around Barkat Market,” said Shahid, a shop owner engaged in business in Barkat Market for over 20 years. “There is simply no easy way left to get to the main road now. Barkat Market was already plagued by chronic traffic jams and closure of two main exits would seal the residents’ and shopkeepers’ fate permanently. It’s a massive bottleneck they have created without much thought process.”
“They have barely left a single approach to and fro Barkat Market, even a child can tell it’s illogical. Look at the traffic mess now,” Shahid pointed towards a crowd of motorists fighting to find a way.
Another resident Pakistan Today talked to was much more explicit. “Shahbaz Sharif thinks this is Saudi Arabia where road turns are miles apart. This is not Saudi Arabia where a litre of petrol is cheaper than a litre of water! This nation cannot afford burning fuel in massive traffic jams and disorderly detours,” said Riaz, a resident of Aurangzeb Block. “The authorities should do the needful and restore the exits,” Riaz demanded.
The views expressed by the residents are 100% correct. I am also a resident of Aurengzeb Block, New Garden Town and have been living here for the pasr more than 30 years but there has not been so accute transport problrm as we are facing now. The rapid bus system has ruined the transport problems not only of New Garden Town but the entire city's transport system has been destroyed. Billions of rupees have been spent on this project but instead of improvement the traffic problem has deteriorated.
There is no need to use the word posh to ask for a betterment of the transport system.
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