SIALKOT: District Police Officer (DPO) Omar Saeed Malik held a meeting in the Police-lines Conference Room to resolve the growing traffic problems in the Sialkot city.
The meeting was attended by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar, Deputy Commissioner Sialkot Tahir Farooq, SVP SCCI Sheikh Zohaib Rafique Sethi, DSP Traffic Aftab Ahmed Butt, Chief Officer Municipal Corporation, Secretary Transport Authority, Secretary RTA and traffic police officers.
DPO Omar Saeed Malik while briefing the participants said that the ongoing development work at nine major highways of the city is a major cause of obstruction in the flow of traffic.
He added that a comprehensive planning is needed for the long-term solution of traffic problems.
The DPO said that in the last 20 years, the number of vehicles in Sialkot increased by almost 300%, the number of factories increased by 560% and the population has increased by 55%, but no new roads, bridges and underpasses were built in the city during this period.
He said that the encroachments on road and wrong parking are also a hindrance to the flow of traffic.
The DPO said that the big shopping halls, plazas, schools, colleges and marriage halls are located within the city without parking arrangements. He said that the traffic police have a severe shortage of resources and personnel. The vehicles they use are dilapidated and twenty years old.
He further said that in the year 2021, 80 people were killed in Sialkot district due to traffic accidents.
Establishing a standard traffic school is essential for giving awareness to people about traffic rules, DPO said.
At the end of the meeting, the DPO along with the participants reviewed the traffic problems at various intersections and highways of the city and made a plan for their solution.
The DPO said that he is well aware of the difficulties regarding traffic faced by the citizens.
The purpose of the meeting with all stakeholders is to make short-term and long-term plans for resolving traffic issues, he further added.
He said that from different offices of traffic police, the number of traffic police personnel duties during school and factory hours has been increased by deploying 62 people in the field.
The DPO said that despite the limited resources, the traffic police are working hard to keep the traffic flowing in the city. However, the citizens are also requested to show patience in view of the ongoing development works in the city and cooperate with the traffic staff.