LAHORE, Nov 13: The movement of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Federal Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem and some VVIPs of the Punjab government in the provincial capital aggravated the traffic problem.

The City Traffic Police officials say the traffic load increased between 5pm and 8pm because of VVIP movement, extra movement of people on weekends, shopping for Eidul Azha and motorists travelling outside the city.

However, motorists say the absence of wardens from duty points, their diminishing interest in job and non-serious attitude to regulate traffic caused blockades.

The most-affected roads were Canal Road, Ferozpur Road, Ravi Road, Lorry Adda, Bund Road, The Mall and Jail Road while all major traffic signals of the city witnessed heavy load.

Traffic on Canal Road faced blockade when Mr Gilani arrived and departed from Doctors' Hospital in the evening.

A city traffic police officer said at least three incidents of breakdown on Canal Road also disrupted traffic flow on Saturday.

He claimed that in addition to 2,200 wardens, who worked in three shifts daily, 300 additional wardens were deputed to regulate traffic.

The officer, however, admitted that their wireless control received maximum congestions after 5pm.

He said rush outside markets and at sale points of sacrificial animals on weekend was another factor behind the traffic mess.

He claimed that 39 wardens in three shifts were handling traffic and parking problems at nine sale spots for sacrificial animals.

Kamran Zafar, a doctor, said: “The Canal Road has almost become a headache for motorists due to narrow road sections like Punjab University and breakdown of vehicles. Wardens most of the time focus on issuing fine tickets to violators but hardly handle traffic when the need arises.”

He said he reached his Johar Town residence from the hospital by car in one hour and 20 minutes on Saturday evening.

“You can find wardens actively regulating traffic only on a few roads and at important crossings where their performance could be judged by authorities and functionaries of the government. But they usually are absent from all those crossings and roads which are not in the use of VVIPs” Kamran said.

Motorcyclist Yaqoob Husain Malik said he reached Guru Mangat Road, Gulberg, in an hour unlike his 30-minute routine timing because of heavy rush on roads and bumper-to-bumper traffic.

“What needs to be done on the part of the traffic police as well as the government is to improve the road infrastructure, give priority to hundreds of thousands of motorists on city roads over VVIPs and government functionaries and proper training of wardens who apparently do not take interest in their job,” Malik, who is a government employee, said.