RAWALPINDI, Dec 27: Introduction of the Traffic Warden System in the city is now more than six-month-old, but the three-kilometer busy Peshawar Road and certain other areas of Cantonment are not on the map of the traffic police, allowing the public transporters to drive the way they desire.
Not a single traffic policeman is seen on the road between Naseerabad and the intersection of Haji Camp and Golra Road. For a brief period, a sergeant of the Islamabad Traffic Police was seen patrolling on the Golra Road but he also disappeared and the traffic violations by the public transport go with impunity.
Doors of the traffic police post near the Daewoo bus stand has been closed to the public and the traffic police at the post take no action on public complaints. No warden is seen posted on the entire road to bring huge number of buses, wagons, Suzukis and taxis in the confines of law.
Though there is a bus stop close to the Kohinoor Mills, public transporters park their vehicles in the middle of the road taking advantage of the absence of traffic police.
Likewise, buses, wagons, taxis and suzukis occupy the main Golra intersection on the Peshawar Road creating obstacles to the smooth flow of traffic but law does not seem to exist in this part of the city.
Some people say it is a matter of jurisdiction between the Traffic Police of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The capital traffic police say the area falls in the jurisdiction of Rawalpindi, whereas the Rawalpindi police are of the view that the area is under the jurisdiction.
Ironically, the Punjab police are seen placing barriers and checking public and suspect vehicles and the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board has put its sign near the Golra Depot of the Army to indicate the limits of its territory.
With the passage of time, performance of the newly inducted traffic wardens has started to improve, while traffic is growing day by day on the non-expanding infrastructure, but their entire concentration on the Mall Road has raised doubts about their operational strategy.
Except the Mall Road, the traffic wardens are often absent on other roads of the Cantonment, and the public is getting clear message that they are meant to facilitate the movements of VVIPs and high-ups. Except Mall Road, traffic wardens are occasionally seen on Kashmir Road and some areas of Bank Road.
The Haider Road is commonly used by the public transport for public movement within and outside the city, including Islamabad. Hardly any traffic sergeant is seen on this busy road to control the traffic which has become a public nuisance. The public transporters have created bus stops on their own, creating traffic jams.
The mismanaged bus stop in front of General Post Office on the Kashmir Road challenges the authority of the traffic police. The public transport vehicles owned by the police personnel or those having police backing violate the traffic laws and the traffic wardens close their eyes to the violation.
The entire enclave in the vicinity of Railway Reservation Office is being used by the public transport as a bus stop. It is a junction of five roads linking Railway Station, Station Road, Bank Road, and Transit Camp Road. In the absence of any control of traffic wardens, public transport completely blocks vehicular traffic on this junction and private vehicles find no space to move.
The public transporters enjoy full authority on the encroachment-packed Railway Road where traffic remains blocked for hours; probably traffic police do not know this road is also part of the Cantonment. Ever since the creation of traffic wardens, the Railway Road which is in the backyard of Sadar area, no traffic police are posted.
Traffic signals have an important role to regulate the traffic in the absence of traffic police, but even in the heart of Sadar where a traffic signal went out of order a long time has been finally removed to the much inconvenience of the public.
The Milad Chowk renamed from Hathi Chowk, an old Sadar area, gives a look with messy situation with the growth of traffic. The Chowk always remained choked with traffic jams and needs police wardens on permanent basis for the better regulation of traffic.
The growing vehicular traffic is becoming out of control in all parts of the Cantonment and it is challenge for the Traffic Police headed by Chief Traffic Officer SSP Raja Riffat Mukhtar to redraw the traffic map to ensure presence of traffic wardens throughout the Cantonment area.
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