RAWALPINDI: The district administration has announced new school timings in the garrison city to minimise traffic congestion during the ongoing construction work on the remodeling of Kutchery Chowk.

A notification issued by Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema said due to the ongoing construction work at Kutchery Chowk schools falling under Subdivision Cantonment and Subdivision City shall remain open from 7:45am to 12:45pm.

This measure has been taken to ensure smooth traffic flow and safety of students, it added.

On the other hand, Punjab Education Department has already revised school timings across the province due to the worsening smog conditions. As per a notification, no educational institution will be allowed to open before 8:45am.

It said any school opening before 8:45am will be considered in violation of the directive and may face fines ranging from Rs100,000 to Rs1 million.

The Punjab government officially revised school timings, effective from October 27 until April 15, 2026.

The difference of timings however created confusion among the students and private schools. However, District Education Authority asked all private and public schools in the garrison city to follow the instructions issued by the local administration.

When contacted, District Education Authority Chief Executive Officer Tariq Mehmood said the new timings were issued only for cantonment and city areas while schools in Gujar Khan, Taxila, Kallar Syedan, Kotli Sattian and Murree had to follow the instructions of the provincial education department.

He said as the traffic suffered due to the closure of the roads, there was a dire need to adjust timings of schools and private offices, colleges and universities.

He said the district administration issued the notification after permission from the provincial government. He was not sure about the timeline for the new timings of schools and said till the completion of the construction work, the schools had to follow the new timings.

Congestion on alternative roads

Alternative routes that thousands of vehicles were diverted to remained congested on the fourth day as these were in poor condition even though the traffic police had asked the authorities concerned to repair them before the start of the work on Kutchery Chowk remodeling project.

Commuters faced lots of hardship though the traffic police had mapped out a traffic plan to facilitate road users and keep the public aware of the congestion on highways from time to time.

The alternative routes, especially Bostan Road and Rahimabad road, needed urgent repair.

Due to the closure of Kutchery Chowk, thousands of commuters and more than 250,000 vehicles that used it daily have been affected.

Not only commuters, residents of the adjoining areas have also been expressing their frustration over the decision to designate their roads as alternative routes. Encroachments and heaps of garbage lying along roadsides, especially on Tipu Road and Rahimabad, have made their lives miserable due to smoke and noise of vehicles.

Some of the residents of housing societies located along G.T. Road are now prefer staying at home and work online as it takes hours in reaching their offices or other workplaces.

Students as well as teachers are equally affected due to the situation as they have been facing considerable delays in reaching their destinations.  

“I used to leave home at 7am to reach my university but due to the closure of Kutchery Chowk, I have to leave 45 minutes before. And not to talk about the evening when there are long queues of vehicles on Murree Road. Alternative routes are packed and vehicular movement is slower,” an assistant professor said.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2025