RAWALPINDI: After two days of road blockades, routine life returned to the garrison city on Sunday.

The local administration and police opened the main roads at Faizabad and Rawat T-Chowk as well as Peshawar Road, Old Airport Road and Murree Road on Sunday. Mobile phone services were also restored in the morning though some people complained that their phones had yet not connected with their mobile networks.

Markets and shops opened and the residents were seen flocking to markets and other places in Raja Bazaar, Moti Bazaar, College Road, Jamia Masjid and adjoining bazaars.

Local transport was also plying on the roads.

The district administration officials said the Rawalpindi Municipal Waste Company had cleared all main roads and streets that had been sealed in the last two days.

They said anti-dengue teams had started spraying medicines in different union councils, especially those close to Islamabad.

Many residents criticised the PTI as well as the government and said that they should solve political issues in parliament or allocate a separate ground for such activities.

“Political parties should learn a lesson from the past and not use the main roads for protests. Similarly, the government should not close roads and hamper routine activities in the city by placing containers,” said Iftikhar Ahmed, a resident of Satellite Town.

Riasat Hussain, a resident of Double Road, said the city roads had been closed six times in the last two months for various reasons. Sometimes, it was for cricket matches and sometimes due to protests staged by TLP, Jamaat-i-Islami and PTI, he said, adding that political parties should record their protest in assemblies or on grounds outside the cities.

“There was no mobile service in the city and people remained confined to houses. The most affected were daily wage earners,” said Sheikh Saleem, a shopkeeper in Narankari Bazaar.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2024