RAWALPINDI: Over 145,000 vehicles entered Murree during Eid holidays and 57,000 exited from the hill station, said city traffic police (CTP) spokesman here on Saturday.

He said that 340 traffic personnel were deployed in Murree to guide the tourists and provide them all possible support and guidance.

He said CTP had banned the entry of heavy vehicles and buses and doing wheelies by young motorcyclists to ensure safety of the tourists and smooth flow of traffic at the hill station.

The Rawalpindi CTP had chalked out a comprehensive plan for Eid under which over 340 wardens and traffic officers were deployed in Murree to manage traffic flow and avoid traffic mess, he said, adding there was parking facility for just 3,200 vehicles in Murree.

The CTP on the directives of Chief Traffic Officer, Rawalpindi, had finalised all the arrangements besides setting up a control room at traffic police headquarters to monitor the situation, but due to the traffic load the vehicles were moving at snail’s pace at different points, particularly at Lower Topa and Jhika Gali, creating problems for the road users.

The violators of traffic rules were sent behind bars, he said, adding that traffic wardens had been directed to impound motorcycles of those doing wheelies. He said the citizens had been urged to play role in curbing the activity as rash and negligent driving were the main causes of accidents.

All the traffic officers and wardens had also been directed to remain present at their duty points so as to avoid traffic jams, he said.

The CTP spokesman said that all-out efforts were being made by the Rawalpindi traffic police to facilitate the road users by ensuring smooth traffic flow.

He said that as per guidelines of the National Command and Control Centre the entry of tourists not possessing the Covid-19 vaccination certificate was banned.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2021