Coordinated efforts needed to solve Peshawar's traffic problems: SSP

Senior Superintendent Police (traffic), Najee-ur-Rehman, has said that only imposing penalties and registration of cases against transporters was not a solution to the growing traffic issues, saying that a co-ordinated efforts by police and other relevant departments was needed to solve traffic problems in the provincial metropolis.
Speaking at Khyber Union of Journalists' 'Mulaqat' programme here at Peshawar Press Club on Friday, he said traffic police was responsible for enforcement of laws but the most important thing for bringing improvement in the system was education and traffic engineering.
He pointed out that majority of the plazas, hotels and transportation set-ups are located very close to the main roads but none of the buildings had parking facility that was why people parked their vehicles on the roads which hinder the flow of traffic.
He said the recent traffic problems were due to the ongoing development work, particularly on the Arbab Sikandar Khan Khalil Flyover at G. T. Road and Mufti Mehmood Flyover. He said through the roads in Peshawar were quite spacious but encroachments were creating problems and it was not the duty of the traffic police to remove these. He said that the town municipal administrations and Peshawar cantonment should realise their responsibilities and remove the encroachment on permanent basis so that smooth flow of traffic could be ensured.
He said that during 2011 some 5,87,352 vehicles had been challaned and about Rs 13,00,96,800 collected as fine, while in 2012 144964 vehicles had been challaned and Rs 3,45,75,800 had been collected as fine. Similarly, he said, 1710 cases were registered against encroachers and 4475 were arrested in 2011, while 685 cases were registered and 2140 encroachers arrested during the current year. President KhUJ Arshad Aziz Malik and General Secretary Ali Hazrat Bacha were also present on the occasion.