- Improper rain drainage system reflects inefficiency of WASA
- City traffic police deployed more than 200 wardens
- Traffic police spokesman blames it on construction works
LAHORE: The City traffic Police on Friday struggled to maintain smooth flow of traffic due to protests, police pickets and improper rain drainage system in the city.
According to details, the improper rain drainage system, Pakistan Awami Tehreek’s (PAT) protest and police pickets added to the commuters’ problems and made the flow of traffic inefficient.
After two days of rain, the rain water remained standstill on different roads of the city which reflected the WASA’s inefficiency. The situation was more terrible on Railways Station, Davis Road, Lakshmi Chowk, Abbot Road, McLeod Road and the other adjoining roads.
According to sources, due to the threats of terrorist related incident in the city on Thursday, the Punjab police deployed its personnel on different roads in the city which also affected the traffic flow.
It seemed many ambulances also could not find their way in heavy traffic.
At canal road, a traffic jam was witnessed from Doctors Hospitals to Thokar Niaz Baig on both sides of the canal bank. The reason for the traffic jam at canal road was the ongoing construction work for the road widening project.
A resident of Daroghawala Hammad said that it took him more than two hours to reach the Press Club. He said, “The thirty-minute long distance took more time because of muddy roads”, adding that he had to travel along the Orange Line Metro Train project route which has become a nightmare for the commuters of his area.
Meanwhile, the protesting rally of PAT which started after the Jumma prayer added to the problems of the commuters as they were stuck on the roads. Anees ur Rehman, a biker stuck at Davis road while talking to Pakistan Today said, “I have been stuck here for past hour as I was unaware of the protesting rally of PAT on Edgerton road”.
Minor clashes among the commuters were also witnessed in the day-long traffic congestion as many of them lost their temper in utter frustration.
According to traffic police officials, City traffic police deployed more than 200 wardens on different roads in order to maintain the traffic flow in the city.
A Spokesman for traffic police Hammad Raza showed serious concerns over inefficient traffic flow, blaming it on various development projects especially the construction work on Orange Line Metro Train route, “around 15 roads crossed through Railways track in the city which causes traffic congestion. DIG traffic has asked Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique and other railways officials to resolve the traffic jam issue”, he added.