RAWALPINDI, Oct 3: The motorists and the pedestrians have to face many problems while passing through the Sarafa Bazaar due to the large scale encroachments by the jewellers.

They have encroached upon the road by erecting poles, chains and locks to define their turf in front of their shops. The 30-feet wide road from Raja Bazaar to Benazir Bhutto Road has been squeezed to just 10 feet due to the encroachments hampering the smooth flow of traffic.

The Sarafa Bazaar Road passes through the residential and commercial areas of the city. The residents and businessmen of Bhabra Bazaar, Chittian Hattian, Shah Chan Chiragh Mohallah, Waris Khan, Purana Qila, Urdu Bazaar and other areas use this road daily but the constant traffic jam hampers their movement.

The situation is no different at other arteries like Benazir Bhutto Road, Jinnah Road commonly known City-Saddar Road, Kashmiri Bazaar, Gunjmandi, Commercial Market, Circular Road, Iqbal Road, Bohar Bazaar, Purana Qila, Jamia Masjid Road, Banni Chowk and other areas.

On the roadsides of these bazaars, the shopkeepers park their vehicles and the general public finds no space for the purpose.

The RTMA made towering claims of purging the city of encroachments to ensure smooth flow of traffic but its every campaign remains limited to anti-vendor drive instead of full-fledged anti-encroachment campaign.

“Encroachment by erecting poles in front of the shops in Sarafa Bazaar and illegal parking are creating traffic mess, said Muhammad Kamran, a cabbie.

Noman Asghar, a resident of Bhabra Bazaar blamed encroachments by the shopkeepers for messy traffic on Sarafa Bazaar Road. He said that the students especially the female students found difficulty to go to their educational institutes while passing through this road.

Haider Ali, a resident of Shah Chan Chiragh, said that the jewellers parked their vehicles at will and the RTMA or Traffic police dare not lift the vehicles parked in the middle of the road. He said that the taxis or rickshaws would not come in the area due to traffic problem and they had to come to their houses on foot.

It is learnt that the vendors pay Rs200 a day to the shopkeepers for placing their stalls in front of their shops. They also bribe the RTMA staff to get prior information about the arrival of the anti-encroachment team so that they may remove their goods from the footpaths before the action is taken.

Town Officer Regulation Aftab Chohan claimed there was no problem at Sarafa Bazaar and other areas of the city as the traffic was running smoothly.

When contacted, Rawal Town Administrator and Assistant Commissioner Saif Anwar Jappa said that it was not the RTMA's responsibility to control the traffic. He said that the traffic police should lift the illegally parked vehicles.

“The RTMA is responsible only to remove vendors and traffic police should play its role in improving the traffic in bazaars and roads,” said RTMA administrator.

When asked about the encroachments on the footpaths, the administrator said he would visit the bazaar and see the situation by himself. He said that he would take action against those officials who failed to remove the encroachments from the footpaths and roadsides.

City Traffic Officer (CTO) Abbas Tarrar, who took charge a day earlier, told Dawn that the encroachment was the main hurdle in the smooth flow of traffic in the downtown. He said he would meet the RTMA and CDGR officials to chalk out a comprehensive plan for launching joint action to improve traffic on the city roads.

He said that the traffic police would improve the situation within a few days as he directed the officials concerned to improve traffic management and provide safe passage to the motorists and pedestrians especially in thickly-populated areas.