RAWALPINDI: For three months, the City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) and the Rawal Town Municipal Administration (RTMA) has made towering claims of purging the city of encroachments. But a visit to the garrison city – particularly Murree Road – paints a different picture.

From 6th Road square to Nawaz Sharif Park – also known as Shamsabad Public Park – vehicles belonging to car dealers have been parked on the main road, the pavement and the service road.

The encroachment on the service road has rendered an 80 feet wide road useless to motorists and pedestrians.

The RTMA, which is responsible for clearing roads of such encroachments, has failed to act. Former PML-N MNA Hanif Abbasi and MPA Raja Hanif also have their public offices on this very service road, but have also failed to have it cleared.

RTMA, traffic police lay responsibility of clearing roads on each other

“The cars parked on the footpath and service road make it difficult for pedestrians to walk on the footpath. I think in Pakistan, footpaths are meant for cars and stalls to be parked on, and used by influential figures,” said Mohammad Kamran, who lives on 6th Road.

He said whenever he went for an evening walk to the park, it was near impossible for people to use the service road to get to the park. “I have to walk on main Murree Road, which is risky because of the speeding traffic,” he said.

Mohammad Ahsan, a Mullpur resident, said the RTMA razed fruit shops along Shamsabad park soon after they received complaints from residents. But he added that residents had complained about parked vehicles on the pavement and the service road to the civic body over a hundred times in the last three years, to no avail.

“The average citizen’s requests fell on deaf ears, as the administration did not make an effort to clear the city and other areas from encroachments, despite clear directives from the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench,” Mr Ahsan added.

He said unchecked encroachment by shopkeepers was not only a problem for pedestrians but also disrupted the flow of traffic.

RTMA officials, meanwhile, have laid responsibility on the traffic police. Town Municipal Officer Mir Akmal told Dawn that it was the duty of the traffic police to remove cars from the pavement and the service road.

He admitted that he was aware of the problem, but instead of explaining why action was not launched against the car dealerships, claimed that the traffic police would use force on shopkeepers.

When asked whether local PML-N leaders were using their influence to stop the RTMA, Mr Akmal said neither Hanif Abbasi nor any other party leader had directed that action be halted. “Action wasn’t taken yet, so how can it be stopped,” he said.

A senior traffic police official, however, said it was the civic body’s duty to clear the roads, not the traffic police’s. He said the traffic police can only manage traffic, while the removal of encroachments is a function of the RTMA.

“It’s a bad habit of RTMA officials to pass the buck to the traffic police. In Raja Bazaar and Murree Road, officials passed building plans after taking bribes, and didn’t inspect whether or not plaza owners left space for a parking area,” he said.

PTA MPA Arif Abbasi also said the service road from 6th Road to Shamsabad park had been encroached upon by car dealerships.

He added that roads in Gunjmandi and Circular Road have been encroached upon by motorcycle dealerships and workshops, and these roads were no longer able to facilitate motorists.

He laid the blame on the negligence of the local administration, who he said had become private employees of local PML-N leaders.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2016