PESHAWAR, Feb 10: NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has said, increasing environmental pollution should be controlled by converting rickshaw engines to CNG kits.
He was presiding over a meeting on the problems of Peshawar City at the Governor House here on Saturday.
Provincial Minister Abbas Khan, home secretary, transport secretary, excise and taxation secretary, Peshawar District Nazim Azam Afridi and Naib Nazim Dr Pervez Iqbal Khalil, NWFP IGP Mohammad Saeed Khan, city police chief Khurshid Alana, Nazimeen of all the four towns of Peshawar and others attended the meeting .
The governor, expressing concern over what he called the disorderly traffic in Peshawar, said mushroom growth in mini buses and rickshaws had turned the city into a bus stand. This sorry state of affairs had also added to the environmental pollution, he regretted.
He said the increasing traffic hazards were causing inconvenience to the public, therefore it should be controlled so that the common man could be relieved.
Mr Shah asked the police department to see whether the mini buses and rickshaws could be replaced by big buses and taxis, like other big cities, so that the number of vehicles reduced, and the facility improved.
He also ordered them to impound vehicles plying on the roads without rout permit.
The governor also directed the traffic police chief to make arrangement for installation of meters in rickshaws by March 31, to avoid commuters’ problems. Installation of meters should be done through a contractor, if the meters were not available in the market, he added.
He said horse and donkey carts, and tongas, should be confined to the outer limits of the city as they were causing disturbance on the roads.
The governor observed that the city lacked proper bus stands, waiting rooms, and arrangement of potable water for the commuters. He said to have himself witnessed the sorry state of passengers, particularly women, while travelling. He directed the officials concerned to make necessary arrangements to this effect.
The governor said the workshop of GTS buses should be used for parking of all vehicles, especially those which plied on long routes.
Mr Shah also stressed the need for establishment of parking sites in order to avoid congestion in the city. About the Vehicle Testing Authority, the governor asked the authorities concerned to judge whether the authority could be privatized or not.
He urged the need for making durable lane marking and Zebra crossings on the roads. The government was spending billions of rupees on roads’ expansion, and it was the responsibility of the traffic police to ensure better traffic managements, he added.
He suggested that the heavy vehicular traffic should not be allowed inside the city during peak hours. It could be diverted to the ring road in the rush hours.