Rawalpindi administration blocks major roads with containers
The city district government, Rawalpindi, with the help of police, has blocked all roads leading to Islamabad on Sunday to stop Tahir-ul-Qadri’s ‘long march’ today (Monday) by placing containers on roads.
The worst kind of traffic jams were seen at Jhelum Road, Airport Road and Peshawar Road.
The local management and police blocked Jhelum Road at Soan Bridge, Rawat, Koral Chowk, Airport Road, Benazir Bhutto Road, Faizabad Chowk, Golra Morr and Peshawar Road from Kohinoor Mills’ T-Chowk and Mehrabad Chowk.
However, the Punjab government spokesman claimed that they were neither blocking roads nor harassing participants from taking part in the ‘long march’. CCTV cameras were installed at Faizabad Chowk, Jhelum Road and Koral Chowk to monitor activities of suspected persons and avoid any untoward incident on the occasion, he said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Israr Abbasi said: “We will not allow the ‘long march’ participants to enter into Rawalpindi. We will seal all entry and exit points of the city to stop entry of the ‘long march’ participants into Rawalpindi,” he claimed.
He said that all roads of Rawalpindi leading to Islamabad would be blocked with containers. “More and more containers are being brought to Rawalpindi for installation at all important routes to stop the ‘long march’ participants from going to the Parliament House.
Tehrik Minhaj-ul-Quran Media Coordinator (Rawalpindi-Islamabad) Ghulam Ali told ‘The News’ that the administrations of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were creating difficulties for the ‘long march’ participants. “The participants will bring with them ladders to climb containers and cross these to reach Islamabad’s Red Zone,” he said.
City Traffic Officer (CTO) Syed Ishtiaq Shah has issued traffic advisory for motorists and transporters. He said that containers are being installed to protect the lives of citizens. He appealed to citizens not to damage containers, otherwise strict legal action would be taken against them. He said that traffic wardens would divert traffic to alternative routes on Sunday and Monday.
Awami Muslim League (AML) Chairman Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that the federal government is clever enough and wants to transfer the entire burden of stopping the ‘long march’ of Tahir-ul-Qadri on the Punjab government. The provincial government should use its intelligence before taking steps against Tahir-ul-Qadri.
He said: “We are thinking about how to welcome Qadri’s ‘long march’ in Rawalpindi. More than 100 containers have been placed on different routes in Rawalpindi to stop the entry of the ‘long march’ participants into federal capital.”
A survey conducted by ‘The News’ revealed that all major roads in the central parts of Rawalpindi witnessed worst traffic jams as roads leading to Islamabad were blocked by the local authorities by placing containers.
People commuting between the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad faced hardships, as they travelled through roads and highways where gridlocks had brought traffic to a standstill. Whereas in normal conditions, it took only a few minutes to go to their destinations, commuters on Sunday had to wait for hours on roads for traffic to move on.
Many patients could not reach hospitals in time, as a number of ambulances were seen also trapped in the traffic blockage on Sunday.
Talking to ‘The News,’ the residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad said that the government has paralysed the life of the common man. “We cannot perform our duties in a situation when all roads are blocked,” they asked.
Nahid Shabbir, Zamurrud Zeb, Bashir Ahmed, Nazia Noreen, Mohammad Aijaz and several others stuck up in traffic jam at Jhelum Road said that they were facing a difficult situation because the Rawalpindi Police have blocked all key roads a day before the ‘long march’.
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