RAWALPINDI: More than 50 motorbike riders suffered cuts, bruises and wounds after falling while doing wheelies though there was a visible police presence to check the practice and the display of fireworks on the eve of New Year.

Police rounded up 18 motorbike riders for doing wheelies in different parts of the garrison city besides impounding 24 modified motorcycles.

Security had been beefed up across the city with traffic and regular police deployed on different roads and barriers installed to block the motorbike riders from doing wheelies.

The entry of vehicles, including motorbikes, was banned through Committee Chowk underpass while barriers were erected on Jhelum Road near Ayub Park, Rawal Road, Rehmanabad and R.A. Bazaar.

The city traffic police said all the wardens, officers and clerical staff had been deployed for patrolling in the city and the cantonment areas to check wheelie.

A spokesman for the traffic police said: “There was a visible police presence at Rawal Road, Committee Chowk, Rehmanabad and Jhelum Road. Around 24 modified motorcycles were impounded and 18 riders rounded up by the police last night.”

He said CTO Chaudhry Yousuf Shahid was leading the police squads who remained on duty till early on Sunday.

Suleman Qadri, a resident of Committee Chowk, told Dawn that there was heavy police presence around the underpass which had been closed for traffic last night.

“Police used sticks to push back the citizens appearing from streets to watch wheelie on the road,” he said.

However, the regular police on duty were unable to prevent people from displaying firecrackers which started at midnight.

As many as 30 people, who sustained multiple injuries while doing wheelie, were treated at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) while 20 others were taken to the Holy Family Hospital.

When contacted, the medical superintendent of Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Dr Arshad Ali Sabir, said: “The number of injured people from wheeling was not higher than the previous years as this practice was relatively controlled this year.”

However, deputy medical superintendent emergency at the BBH said 150 trauma patients, including those who sustained minor injuries during road traffic accidents while doing wheelie, were treated at the emergency during the last 24 hours.

“As many as 150 trauma patients, including traffic accident victims, were treated at the BBH. However, none of them was critically injured,” he said.

Published in Dawn January 2nd, 2017