Faisalabad: The Manchester of Pakistan Haunted by Unending Traffic

Iftikhar Ahmed

Peshawar: Often called the Manchester of Pakistan, Faisalabad has seen a rapid rise in population over the years. With the fast growth in the number of residents, the roads are packed with heavy traffic, causing serious concerns among citizens.

The city, once known for its industrial and economic growth, is now suffering from disturbed routines, slowed businesses, and risks to public safety due to rising traffic.

Intersections have become more congested than before. With an increase in the number of vehicles, reckless driving has also increased. During busy hours, the traffic becomes more scrambled than ever.

Violations of traffic rules can be observed frequently. Continuous honking forces people to question how long they have to endure this.

The citizens are frustrated from the traffic chaos, while the authorities are making desperate efforts to control the chaos.

Urban planners, on the contrary, are concerned about the city’s infrastructure. With no action plan, the roads might soon reach their limit. People are going to be trapped in an ultimate loop of traffic paralysis.

 Heavy Traffic, Heavy Impacts

The traffic chaos is certainly inconvenient. However, it poses serious concerns to the economy, fuel bills, environment and air, and physical and mental health of people.

A school teacher, Muhammad Asif, whose struggle to move around the city begins with his day. He said, stuck at the Katchery Bazaar Chowk on Circular Road, that “It takes me nearly an hour to cover a distance that should take 15 minutes.”

With the roads congested with cars, buses, and rickshaws “even pedestrians struggle to walk through due to traffic jams,” he added.

Major roads like Jhang Road, Jaranwala Road, Samundri Road, Sargodha Road, Aminpur Road, and others like these are regularly clogged. The bottlenecks formed at every other junction can take hours to clear up.

Routine delays, unnecessarily loud honking, and congested roads have become a part of Faisalabad city’s lifestyle. Regardless of traffic guidelines, privately operated buses, rickshaws, and Qingqi motorcycles move through the city without following the lanes or regulations.

 Frustrated Citizens Speak Up

Saima Bibi, a college student who travels via public transport, complained that “These drivers act like they own the road.” She added that the drivers block entire lanes and create jams wherever they want, just to pick up the passengers.

She accused the absence of a regulated mass transit system for citizen’s dependence on the private means of transportation. Frustrated citizen, Saima, also said that “lack of adherence to traffic rules and weak traffic management adds on to the chaos.”

Traffic police officers are deployed in different areas of the city but they also appear unable to manage the situation. Traffic Warden Rizwa Ali Khan noted, “We do our best, but the sheer number of vehicles creates too much traffic for the very few roads in the city. The disregard for traffic laws constantly makes our job difficult.”

He added, “Traffic violators have a little to no fear of being penalized. Political pressures often lead to cancellation of the issued fines. In such circumstances, how is traffic supposed to be managed?”

Read More: https://thepenpk.com/urban-inequality-widens-as-pakistans-cities-grow/

The pedestrians seem to be taking a significant toll from the traffic conditions. Citizens report that the pedestrians are not respected, footpaths are either broken or completely blocked by the vendors. The stalls are removed but they return after a few days due to lack of follow-up procedures. The traffic police also seem helpless in this regard.

“I feel like my life is at stake every time I step onto the road,” stated elderly citizen Ghulam Abbas after he had a close call with a hit-and-run incident near Clock Tower.

A daily commuter, Muhammad Arshad, reported that the citizens have been complaining for years but no change was observed. He believes that this traffic chaos is an endless cycle.

 City at Risk, Experts Warn

Like the citizens, FCCI, Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry, has also reportedly presented the issue to the authorities, with no response received. A civil engineer Usama Naseer has explained that the city expanded over the years with notably less traffic and transport planning.

He added, “Faisalabad’s traffic mess reflects wrong urban planning. The infrastructure is not in line with the increasing number of vehicles along with the growing population.” He suggested that a comprehensive and stable approach is required to address this issue.

Local politician Rana Muhammad Akhtar called the steps by local authorities a “good omen”. He reported that the roads have been widened in some areas for better traffic flow. “However, the construction of flyovers and underpasses,” he added, “is not sufficient if implementation of strict traffic laws is not ensured.”

 Road Ahead

Investment in traffic technologies including intelligent traffic systems, parking facilities, and mass transit solutions is more than just a necessity. Transportation expert, Muhammad Younus, suggested an improvement in public transportation that will reduce the number of cars on the road. “It will help in minimizing blockages and promote sustainable transportation,” he said.

Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA) spokesperson mentioned that developments on several fronts like upgrading traffic signals, roads expansion and carpeting, traffic awareness campaigns, and public transport networks are underway.

“Punjab Government has developed a detailed mass transit network plan, the metro bus service, for Faisalabad. Once completed, the project will bring visible improvement in the traffic situations of the city.” He reported.

Conclusively, when the traffic and transit projects are underway, an urgent implementation of strict traffic laws and actions against violators is the necessity.