LAHORE: Two demonstrations – one by the Sargodha University students and the other by rickshaw drivers – on Canal Road on Tuesday choked most parts of Lahore.

The hours-long traffic jam trapped hundreds of vehicles on either side of the one of the most busiest roads of the city.

The traffic mess impacted localities such as Gulberg, Ferozepur Road, Jail Road, The Mall, Davies Road, Mozang, Thokar Niaz Beg, Iqbal Town, Johar Town, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Garden Town and its surrounding areas.

Protesters occupied the road at 8am. Dozens of students of Sargodha University blocked traffic near New Campus of the Punjab University on Canal Road towards Thokar Niaz Beg.

As no one from the government side came to the site to initiate negotiations with them, the protesters intensified their agitation.

At around 2pm, several rickshaw drivers, led by their union leaders, also struck Canal Road and blocked its other side –Thokar towards The Mall – making the traffic situation further disturbing.

They were raising slogans against heavy fines on them by the Ring Road Authority and the Local Transport Company.

The closure of either side of Canal Road saw a massive traffic jam on various major roads.

Commuters painted a depressing picture when they were approached for comment.

Rashid Hameed, an accountant of a government department, said he was to reach his Cavalry Ground residence from AG Office located on The Mall. He left the office at 2:30pm and arrived to The Siddique Trade Centre in Gulberg in one hour and 45 minutes that he used to be a 20-minute ride on normal days.

Again, he got stuck on Main Boulevard of Gulberg for 45 minutes.

A family traveling in a car got stuck on Canal Road. They spent their time watching movies on their mobile phones.

Several motorists left their vehicles and sat on footpath.

Also, schoolchildren and their parents faced similar situation and spend hours on roads. Those who tried to use small roads in residential areas also got stuck in long queues because of the flow of traffic.

Senior officers of the traffic police remained unmoved towards the plight of commuters as no serious effort was seen on their part to engage the protesters to clear the roads.

A superintendent of police from traffic department visited the representatives of the protesters, but his meeting remained inconclusive when protesters asked him about his mandate to resolve their issues.

A spokesperson for the traffic police department said that the commuters found no respite as the traffic blockage continued even in evening hours. He said motorists should use Ring Road as alternate route to avoid inconvenience.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2018