RAWALPINDI: The stoppage of wheat flour supply to the Ramazan bazaars by the flour mills association Rawalpindi forced the city traffic police officer (CTO) to relax the ban on the entry of heavy vehicles into Murree Road during construction of the metro bus project.

Chaudhry Afzal Mehmood, the chairman of the flour mill association, had brought the matter to the notice of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan after the Ramazan package wheat flour could not be supplied to the market. However, the city traffic police stuck to their point that the heavy vehicles would not be allowed during rush hours until the traffic rush in the city became normal.

“Yes, we gave them some relaxation but did not fully lift the ban on the entry of heavy vehicles in the city. Wheat flour laden trucks can only enter the city after traffic wardens give them the clearance that there would be no traffic hurdle,” said CTO Shoaib Khurram Janbaz. He said the representatives of the four mill association met him at his office and left satisfied.

But after accepting the demand of the flour mill owners, the traffic police were worried who would be responsible if any heavy vehicle developed some faults in the middle of the busy road.

Decision taken to ensure supply of wheat flour to Ramazan bazaars

It may be noted that wheat is supplied to the flour mills from the storage facility of the Punjab food department on Tipu Road. The millers said that to transport the wheat bags from Tipu Road, their trucks have to use only about 500 metres of the Murree Road near Rialto Cinema Chowk. After that, they have to use the supply line Railway godown and Bakery Chowk roads.

The representatives of the association said they had to use I.J. Principal Road, Railway Carriage Factory, Dhoke Hassu and Ganjmandi roads for the transportation of the flour which had nothing to do with the traffic congestion related to the metro bus project. The CTO Rawalpindi, SSP Shoaib Khuram Janbaz, on March 23 imposed the ban on the entry of heavy vehicles. He was of the view that during the construction of the metro bus track over Murree Road, the entry of heavy vehicles would further compound traffic problems.

During the previous government, the then CTO had allowed heavy vehicles to enter the city from 8am to 12 noon and 2pm to 5pm. The flour mill owners claimed that they had tried several times to meet the CTO to resolve the issue but their efforts proved unproductive. The CTO also dismissed the claims of the owners of the flour mills that his predecessor had allowed them to enter the city during specific timings.

The rift between the city traffic police and the owners of the flour mills emerged after the latter appealed to the chief minister and the interior minister to post out the CTO. They were of the view that if the ban on the entry of heavy vehicles was not lifted, it would be impossible for the flour mills to continue supply of wheat flour to the market and even the Ramazan bazaars. They also claimed that the ban was a conspiracy to sabotage the Ramazan package of the government.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2014