RAWALPINDI: The rally from Sadiqabad to Adiala Jail, held by clerics in favour of former governor Punjab Salman Taseer’s murderer, caused massive traffic congestion on Benazir Bhutto Road as motorists remained stuck for several hours.

Though the number of people in the rally was not impressive, commuters on the road were anguished by the traffic congestion.

They demanded of the government to impose a ban on such rallies which inconvenienced road users.

The traffic halted routine life for hours, and vehicles coming to the BBS Road from Tipu Road, Liaquat Road, Iqbal Road, College Road, Kashmiri Bazaar, Circular Road, Asghar Mall Road, Commercial Market, Fifth Road and Sixth Road remained stuck in traffic jams.

The agitated motorists also resorted to scuffles with each other, while traffic wardens were unable to ease traffic flow on the clogged road.

“Traffic congestion on this road is now an everyday phenomenon, and such rallies test the nerves of motorists,” said Mohammad Imran, a commuter at Benazir Bhutto Road.

Similarly, Mohammad Fahad, a motorists stuck in traffic at Liaquat Road, said the government had failed to stop rallies and protests on main roads which resulted in the waste of precious time.

He alleged that many traffic wardens had disappeared from the assigned points, leaving traffic in chaos.

“The City District Government Rawalpindi must hire a consultant to ensure smooth flow of traffic. There are traffic jams on all the main roads in the city,” said Asim Butt, a commuter at Railway Road.

Another motorist, Nasir Durrani, maintained that traffic wardens did not have the ability to solve traffic congestions.

“Smooth flow of traffic at Benazir Bhutto Road is become a dream as traffic jams from Committee Chowk to Naz Cinema Chowk have became a daily routine,” he said.

He said that the long queues of vehicles on the main artery exposed the mismanagement of city administration.

“The two U-turns – at Kohati Bazaar and Naz Cinema Chowk – are at a distance of 100 feet and should be closed to improve traffic mess on this road,” he added.

This was restated by a warden positioned at Naz Cinema, who maintained that the U-turn forced vehicles to move at a snail’s pace.

“Manually controlling the heavy traffic does not prevent the vehicles from forming a snarl-up on the road,” he added.

Another traffic warden said the rallies disturbed the smooth flow of traffic in the garrison city, and blamed the increasing population for the traffic congestions.

The traffic police officials added that the rally from Sadiqabad to Adiala Jail was the main reason for the traffic mess in the city.