LAHORE: People faced inconvenience after roads leading to Islamabad-Rawalpindi from Lahore and other cities were blocked by the government with containers at entry/exit points on Tuesday.

On the other hand, the closure of intercity public transport service, mainly on the routes from Lahore and other major cities to the twin cities, left the passengers marooned, leaving them with no option but to throng railway stations in Punjab.

“I found no bus for Rawalpindi here, as the service has been closed,” a passenger deplored at a bus terminal near Yateem Khana.

“I am not going to Rawalpindi to attend the PTI rally. Tomorrow I have to appear in an interview for a job. How will I reach there?”

Talking to Dawn, a motorist said the government should at least allow transport for those going to twin cities for their personal or official works.

“When I came here, I found this exit point blocked by placing heavy containers. Now, you tell me which route I should take to reach Islamabad now as I have heard, all entry/exit points of Lahore have been sealed,” he said.

On the other hand, various major roads, including motorways, were closed for the twin cities. According to reports, the motorways — M-2 (Lahore-Islamabad), M-3 (Multan-Lahore) and M-4 (Multan-Faisalabad-Pindi Bhattian) and all interchanges and roads to the twin cities - have also been closed. The River Chenab bridge in Gujrat has also been blocked with the placement of containers, disconnecting Lahore from Gujranwala.

The closure of roads has left rail as the only means to travel in Punjab.

“We had a huge rush of passengers on Tuesday, as all trains from Lahore to Rawalpindi onward were departed jam-packed,” a spokesman for the Pakistan Railways (Lahore Division) told Dawn.

He said the train operation would remain continued as there is no instruction (to close it or not) received from the government so far. However, most of the passengers at the Lahore Railway Station could not get confirmed reservations on the trains scheduled for Rawalpindi.

“After waiting for many hours, I couldn’t get the ticket. However, my friend succeeded in getting a ticket for the 4.30pm Rail Car train for Rawalpindi,” said a passenger.

While the people faced trouble with mobility, they also suffered due to long queues at various petrol pumps in Lahore.

“I’ve been in the queue for the last 20 minutes, but I have yet to get petrol,” said a motorist at a petrol pump in the city.

“I have some petrol already, but I want to get more as I have heard there might be no petrol available at the pumps on Wednesday,” he added.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2022