ISLAMABAD: Traffic congestion has become a common sight on main arteries of Islamabad.

Moving on the roads during peak hours taxes the nerves of the motorists either going to or returning from offices or picking and dropping their children at educational institutions.

Hundreds of vehicles are seen stuck in long queues on Srinagar Highway, I.J. Principal Road and Islamabad Expressway.

The situation gets worse when motorists try to violate lanes with impunity in the absence of traffic police.

A similar situation is seen around almost all educational institutions, where people park their vehicles in a haphazard manner in the presence of a traffic police official who sees the situation helplessly.

The Islamabad Traffic Police and district administration are making efforts to manage the traffic congestion but without success.

When contacted, SSP traffic Rai Mazhar Iqbal said on the recommendation of the ITP the capital administration had set different timings for educational institutions and offices located in different areas of the capital to manage traffic congestion during peak hours and avoid frequent accidents.

He gave various reasons for the traffic jams, including traffic engineering and road infrastructure, adding Srinagar Highway and Islamabad Expressway were used for going to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“A million vehicles move on the expressway on a daily basis,” the SP said, adding when a traffic signal closes for 30 seconds at Srinagar Highway, it leaves a long queue of vehicles stuck there.

The SSP said winter tourism also caused traffic snarl in the capital as thousands of people coming from different parts of the country move towards Murree and northern areas.

Most of the traffic jams on Srinagar Highway, the expressway and I.J. Principal Road took place on Friday evening, Sunday and Monday, the SSP said.

The Islamabad district administration has approved and adjusted the school timings to ensure smooth traffic flow, especially during peak hours, Mr Iqbal said.

According to a notification issued by the Deputy Commissioner Office, new timings would be applicable from Jan 10 in 24 educational institutions located in Rawat, G.T. Road, Model Town, Kahuta Road, Kaak Bridge and PWD, DHA Phase-II, he added.

Besides, timing was also set for the offices in capital and the city has been divided into five blocks, the SSP said, adding in this regard the DC office also issued a separate notification.

Sectors I and H were put in Block 1, F-6 and F-7 in Block 2 and G-10 and G-11 in Block 4 and the timing for offices in these blocks is from 8:15am to 4:15pm. Sectors F-8 and F-10 were put in Block 3 and F-11 and E-11 in Block 5 and the timing of offices located in these blocks is from 9am to 5pm, the SSP said.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2022