March 19, 2007	Monday	Safar 29, 1428

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MUZAFFARGARH, March 18: Commuters and motorists suffered a seven-hour traffic jam near the Chenab Bridge on Muzaffargarh-Multan Road on Saturday night after a lorry fell in the middle of the road.

Hundreds of buses, wagons and private vehicles got stuck in the traffic jam. The Chenab Bridge connects Muzaffargarh and Multan and facilitates the traffic from and to NWFP, Sindh, Balochistan and south Punjab. Motorists and commuters said that traffic police arrived at the scene after four hours.

Traffic jams are common scene on the Chenab Bridge and accidents or movements of tractor trolleys laden with sugar canes often cause traffic mess.

The Saturday’s night traffic mess blocked the road around 12am and traffic could not move before 7am.

“It seems that there is no traffic management in the district. I have been stuck at the Chenab Bridge three times earlier,” said Sajid Hussain, who was travelling in a bus from Lahore to Dera Ghazi Khan.

He said viewing the sensitivity of the place traffic police should have been here round-the-clock to manage the traffic.

Whenever traffic was jammed, they arrive here after hours, he said.

Many patients from Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Layyah and Kotaddu are referred to Nishatar Hospital in Multan and this route is used to reach Multan. Traffic jams on the Chenab Bridge has taken many lives.

Three yeas ago, 34-year-old Munwar Hussain died when his family failed to brought him to the Nishtar Hospital in time. The car he was being taken into Multan had stuck in traffic jam near the bridge and he died.

When contacted, Traffic Deputy Superintendent of Police Akram Niazi said that police lacked equipment to remove vehicles like lorry if it broke down. He said the traffic police department was facing shortage of staff and but had tried its best to keep the flow of traffic smooth.