Landsliding:  CTO urges citizens to avoid unnecessary travel towards Soan Bridge

News Desk

Rawalpindi: City Traffic Officer (CTO) Taimoor Khan has urged the citizens to avoid unnecessary travel towards Soan Bridge as it has been closed for traffic towards Rawalpindi due to land-sliding.

The CTO said traffic going to Kutchery Chowk from Rawat is being diverted to alternative routes, adding the traffic coming from Kutcheri Chowk to Rawat is being allowed in a single line. The Highway police have been informed about the diversion, Tamoor Khan added.

There is heavy traffic pressure on both sides of the road at Soan near High Court Rawalpindi Branch.

Additional traffic police officers have been deployed to maintain the flow of traffic, the CTO said assuring that all-out efforts were being made to regulate traffic in the circle and traffic diversions were placed to save the citizens from inconvenience.

The CTO also requested the citizens to cooperate with the traffic officials striving to regulate traffic load.

Earlier, the Soan Bridge has been closed for traffic due to landslides so traffic from Rawat to Kutchery Chowk is being diverted to alternative routes, said City Traffic Police (CTP) Spokesman on Monday.

The traffic coming from Kutchery Chowk is being allowed in a single line, stated the spokesman, adding that there is heavy traffic pressure on both sides at High Court Road near Soan Bridge.

Meanwhile, the citizens going to Rawat from Kutchery Chowk and Jhelum Road to Rawat are requested to avoid unnecessary travel on the road.

The in-charge traffic officer at Civil Lines Circle, along with traffic wardens, is making all-out efforts to maintain the flow of traffic. Additional traffic wardens have also been deployed to regulate traffic in the circle, he added.

Senior Traffic Officer (STO) Rawalpindi Munir Ahmed Hashmi was also present in the field and overseeing the efforts being made to regulate traffic, Spokesperson informed.

According to the citizens, several city and cantonment roads appear like something out of a nightmare because they have been in bad shape for a long time and haven’t been fixed or recarpeted, which is inconveniencing drivers.

Several roads have developed potholes, causing hazards for commuters. The broken roads included Kashmir Road, Range Road, Allahabad Road, Tench Bhatta Road, Masrial Road, Tipu Road, Zakria Masjid Road, Transit Camp Road, Dhoke Ratta, Workshop Road, Marrir Chowk Road, PAF Chowk to Committee Chowk Road, Bostan Khan Road, Westridge Road, Gawalmandi Road, Farooq-i-Azam Road, Sadiqabad and Rehmanabad Roads, Railway Road, Dehri Hassanabad, and several other roads.

In the last two years, the municipal corporation did not launch any major uplift projects, while the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board paid attention to some areas and left several others neglected. The roads from Marrir Chowk to Gawalmandi, Westridge Bazaar to Allahabad, Kashmir Road, and others have developed ditches.