LAHORE, Feb 7: Breakdown of a truck on Canal Road in front of the Punjab University hostels led to a traffic mess in the entire locality for at least 45 minutes on Saturday, exposing the government’s cold response to the road expansion and removal of technical faults.

Traffic going toward Thokar Niaz Beg on Canal Road came to a halt after a truck broke down in the middle of the road because of a mechanical fault at around 5:15pm. Traffic was disrupted at the Campus Underpass, from Muslim Town to Thokar on Canal Road, Sheikh Zayed Road, Barket Market Chowk and Jinnah Hospital Road when traffic officials closed the Campus Underpass and diverted motorists toward Barket Market.

A traffic warden, who was standing at the Campus Underpass, told Dawn that wardens were diverting traffic coming from Muslim Town toward Barket Market Chowk after breakdown of the heavy vehicle. He said a police breakdown vehicle, which arrived 20 minutes after the truck broke down, removed the truck from the road. Traffic was restored after 45 minutes. Breakdowns and accidents of vehicles on Canal Road have increased, especially between narrow sections on the two sides of the road, but no serious effort has been made either by traffic police authorities or the city district government to expand the narrow sections and create breakdown lanes and bus ways. Similarly, public transport and Punjab University buses are disturbing the traffic flow on Canal Road because of their brief parking on the main road.

Canal Road has narrow sections between Canal View Housing Society and Doctors Hospital Underpass, Shah Di Khoi Underpass and Campus Underpass, FC College Underpass and Jail Road Underpass, Royal Palm Country Club and Mughalpura Chowk and Mughalpura Chowk and Harbanspura and Lal Pull.

Sources in the City Traffic Police told Dawn that the number of accidents on the above mentioned narrow sections on Canal Road had increased. They said accidents involving more than two vehicles had increased at least on five narrow sections where three to five lanes shrunk to two lanes.

Sources said that 243,000 new vehicles came on the city roads in 2008, increasing the number of vehicles from 1.9 million to 2.1 million therefore all city roads, especially Canal Road, should be expanded.

Deputy Inspector General (Traffic) Ghalib Ali Bandesha said the main problem on Canal Road was that it had no parallel/alternative in case of road blockades. He said broken vehicles, if standing on narrow sections on Canal Road, needed time to remove and the city traffic police had no option, but to divert the traffic to other roads.

He said some bus ways were being constructed on Canal Road to maintain traffic flow, adding that the next annual development programme of the provincial government would include conversion of two Canal Road lanes into three. “All government agencies have agreed on the point that Canal Road must be expanded to three lanes … irrespective of some environment issues,” he said. Muhammad Faisal Ali