RAWALPINDI: Many markets of downtown areas were losing customers, and distances of minutes were being covered in hours due to encroachments, traffic jams, and lack of parking space, said President Traders Welfare Association Punjab Sharjeel Mir.
While talking to reporter, he said that encroachments from city roads to interior city streets, including Nullah Leh, were major hindrances to revitalizing the heritage and improvement of Rawalpindi. Mir said traders and commuters, especially women, were facing great difficulties during routine shopping, and it doubled over on celebratory shopping. He said that wrong car parking was common even in traffic wardens, causing traffic jams and accidents. Mir urged the Metropolitan Corporation and traffic police to play their due role in removing the encroachment from the city’s busiest roads and demanded the government devise a plan to shift wholesale markets from the city to the proposed ring road to ease traffic congestion.
When Contacted, Municipal Officer Regulations (MOR), Rawalpindi Muhammad Imran warned the encroachers to voluntarily remove their illegal stalls and clear the state land immediately; otherwise, not only their goods would be confiscated, but also FIRs would be registered against them.
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