KOHAT: Traffic gridlocks on the narrow road between the Martyrs Square and the PAF Cinema Square here have become a routine due to the unusual delay in implementation of the road widening project, which has been pending since 2014.

Similarly, as there are no parking areas in the busy city areas, drivers park their vehicles wherever they find a space, causing traffic jams and miseries to the shoppers.

The non-functional traffic signals are another reason for the traffic mess.

When contacted, tehsil municipal officer Mohammad Shoeb told Dawn on Friday that millions of rupees were spent twice on repair of signals, but they had gone out order again.

Meanwhile, the police have also failed to establish a traffic control room apparently due to a shortage of staff to regulate traffic on the roads.

Chief traffic warden Faheem Bangash told Dawn that though awareness campaigns had been launched from time to time to sensitise motorists to the importance of observing traffic rules, but to no avail.

He said that it was almost impossible to keep traffic flowing smoothly on the roads.

Chairman of grand business alliance Haji Abid Khan and Awami National Party president Masood Khan Khalil regretted that lawmakers had sanctioned Rs800 million for widening of the main artery from Martyrs Square to PAF Square, which was ironically the same amount as was announced back in 2014.

They said that it was just a publicity stunt as prices of construction material had gone through the roof since then.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2024