Inadequate transport facilities had become a large reason for increasing rural migration to big cities which was causing multiple problems for the already burdened civic amenities.
Hundreds of families shifted to Lahore from villages between Lahore to Narowal due to the latter’s inadequate travelling facilities.
Many more were planning to shift to the provincial metropolis, a shopkeeper possessing a permanent residence in Narang Mandi (a town between Lahore and Narowal), Naseer Ahmed Mian said.
“There is no train, buses are overcrowded and we are left with no choice but to shift our family to Lahore to continue the business,” he said.
He added that there were 10 railway trains on the Lahore-Narowal section, and all of them packed to capacity, but the previous government closed all of them.
The closure of the rail service caused additional burden to the already inadequate road transport system, another resident Javaid Iqbal said.
Iqbal added that many of his friends had shifted to Lahore and he was planning to do the same.
“If trains were restored or the government started a bus service from Lahore to Narowal through Narang Mandi, the migration could be stopped,” he added.
The trains were providing a safe journey for many personnel including girls who had jobs in Lahore, Motorway Police Employee Ashfaq
Ahmed said.
Ahmed added that the Lahore Transport Company (LTC) buses were a probable option to improve the transport facilities until the restoration of the rail service.
A senior official of the LTC said that a proposal to start a bus service to Narowal through Narang Mandi was under consideration.