Turkish president’s visit hard on Lahorites

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

Friday, April 02, 2010
By Moayyed Jafri

LAHORE

GOVERNMENT’s failure to implement its much totuted traffic plan or declare Thursday as a public holiday on the arrival of the Turkish President in the City put citizens through hell and brought life in the metropolis to a virtual standstill.

Markets, business centres, hospitals, schools and workplaces became inaccessible when traffic police closed Upper Mall, Lower Mall and the Canal Road - a major artery - to ensure smooth VVIP movement. No access to the Railway Station and limited access to the airport left the Ring Road as the only connection between northern and southern Lahore.

People stuck in the traffic jams had nothing but harsh words for the government. They questioned the rationale for creating such a chaotic situation in the City when a public holiday on Thursday could have saved people from this hell.

Patients and students appearing in matriculation examination were the worst hit. Many students arrived at examination centres late and some could not make it at all. Five students who reached the examination centre at Lawrence Road late were denied entry to the examination hall. The superintendent refused to allow them to take the examination. Students tried to explain their predicament but to no avail. They then tore off their examination slips in protest. When contacted, Lahore Board Controller Examination Manzurul Hassan Niazi said that he received no such complaint.

Access to emergencies of four major hospitals in the City was blocked with the closure of the Jail Road. The Punjab Institute of Cardiology, being the only hospital catering to patients suffering from cardiac problems, was virtually unreachable. Similarly, it was also impossible to reach Services Hospital which serves a vast area of population. Screaming sirens of ambulances stuck for hours in traffic jams were a disturbing sight for people who were already troubled by intense heat, noise of horns and fumes of vehicles exhausts. Sir Ganga Ram Hospital too was not easy to approach thanks to the ‘Master Traffic Plan’.

Angry people had a hundred tales to tell about their sufferings because of the traffic mismanagement that cost them dearly.

“It took me two hours to get my father to hospital. He’s had a heart attack. If anything happens to him, I am going to make life hell for the government,” said a boy in tears at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Emergency.

“My mom’s funeral is in Faisalabad. I’ve missed the train which means I will never be able to see her again in my life. Such is the cost you pay to be a Pakistani national,” said another weeping boy.

“We have been imprisoned in our own City. The whole city has turned upside down on the arrival of the Turkish President. What if President Obama visits the city? I’m sure the government will choke us to death,” commented another man. Business at major markets such as Anarkali, Shah Alam Market and Liberty Market suffered a lot. “If the government can declare a public holiday on Mela Charaghan, than why not on the arrival of a high profile personality such as the Turkish President?” argued an irritated trader at Shah Alam Market. With the Main Boulevard Gulberg virtually sealed, employees failed to reach their workplaces on time.

Many people missed their trains as there was no way to get to the Railway Station except through the Ring Road which was too was jammed.

The government’s lack of foresight left hundreds of children stranded at their schools until late in the evening as their parents could not get to them. “Why couldn’t the government declare Thursday as a public holiday?! Why do they have to create such a chaos? Have we not suffered enough on account of loadshedding and spiralling inflation,” fumed a man stuck in traffic waiting to reach his daughter’s school.

Hundreds of vehicles left static for hours turned roads into massive ‘parking lots’ with frustrated and helpless commuters criticising the government’s traffic management skills.

Ferozepur Road was jammed right from Chungi Amarsadhu to Babri Chowk with traffic moving at a snail’s pace. Heated arguments and scuffles broke out between frustrated commuters which added to the chaos.

Traffic wardens seemed helpless to control the traffic mess and at times totally gave in to the demands of angry commuters at major intersections such as Mozang Chungi, Kalma Chowk and Center Point.

The session courts wore a deserted look as in some cases lawyers could not make it to courts and in some judges ran late. Convicts could be not presented in courts pending countless cases.

Talking to The News, people from a cross section of society severely criticised the government for failing to avoid this chaotic situation. They questioned as to why Thursday was not declared a public holiday and why people were put through hell.