SWAT: The residents of Mingora have said that traffic jams have became a daily routine in the area due to which they face problems.

They said that long queues of vehicles were seen on all the roads of Mingora city including Mingora-Saidu Sharif, Shahdara-People Chowk, Nishat Chowk-Taj Chowk, Kanju-Nawekaly Chowk and Shahdara-Fizagat roads. Similarly, the residents of Rhaimabad, Qambar, Balogram and OdigramTakhtaband said that traffic jams in their areas had become a routine and the situation was getting worse with each passing day.

They said that the issue of the traffic jam became worst since the first day of Ramazan as they faced problems in reaching their offices, schools and colleges.

“Since the first day of Ramazan, Saidu Sharif-Mingora, bypass, Shahdara-Fizagat and GT roads witnessed massive traffic jams. It takes about an hour to reach Mingora from Fizagat and it takes two hours in the morning and evening,” said Fazal Karim, a resident of Manglawar who works in the district courts.

The residents of Odigram and the suburbs said that they had to go to Mingora daily for different activities but they could not reach in time due to long queues of vehicles. “The three-kilometre distance from Qambar to Mingora takes about one and a half hour due to the uncontrolled traffic and mismanagement,” said Adil Khan, a resident of Odigram who daily goes to school in Mingora.

The residents of the area said that illegal rickshaws made the situation worse and Mingora became the centre of two-stroke rickshaws, which not only caused traffic jam but also polluted environment.

Amjad Ali, a resident of Mingora, said that owing to mismanagement a large number of illegal rickshaws from across the country were reaching Swat. “Majority of the rickshaws are either two-stroke or unregistered but the traffic police do not bother to take action against them,” he added.

The locals demanded of the government to take effective measures and resolve the traffic jam issue immediately. They said that strict action must be taken against the illegal and two-stroke rickshaws in Swat.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2022