RAWALPINDI: Though the Eid holidays ended on Wednesday (April 2), the formal working in the public and private sector started on Monday, which, being the first formal working day, saw the traffic mess on the main roads of the cantonment and city areas of Rawalpindi due to apathy to traffic police.

The Mall was closed for the traffic due to construction work of Rs4.6 billion worth of underpass and traffic was diverted on Haider Road which created a traffic mess.

Saddar Bank Road is already closed for vehicles and many roads of the Saddar area dug up to lay Sui Northern Gas Pipelines supply lines and it further created problem for the commuters.

Traffic police failed to provide alternative routes for the people where the construction works are in progress. There is no coordination between the civic bodies and the traffic police.

The dug up roads have become bumpy and accident-prone. The Rawalpindi cantonment Board, Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation and District Council are paying no heed to the problem of the residents due to this development works.

Encroachments on Ahata Mithu Khan on Adam Jee Road also added to the problems of the motorists.

In fact, the situation was worst on those roads where the construction work for laying gas pipelines and other work is underway. Motorists on these patches are facing traffic jams.

The residents of the downtown are deeply disturbed over this situation. Talking to Dawn, they said the cantonment board and traffic police did not provide proper alternative route to the people and the careless digging on the main roads had turned the cantonment areas into ruins.

”We are facing traffic mess due to the bad condition of the roads,” said Raja Nisar Ahmed, a motorist on Cantonment Police Station Road. He said that it was difficult to use car or motorcycle on the city roads in these days.

Sajid Riaz, a motorist on Haider Road, said that the government should devise a traffic plan to start any development work as it was creating more discomfort than to facilitate the commuters.

He said that the worst traffic jam was witnessed in the area during day time.

A senior official of district administration said that the development work was started to provide facilities to the people and the contractors had been asked to complete it as soon as possible.

He said that once the work is completed, the people would get signal free Peshawar Road. He said it was the duty of Cantonment Board and Traffic police to sit together and devise better alternative routes to motorists.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2025