Roads crowded for fourth day straight

Islamabad :The holidaymakers headed in droves for parks and recreational spots in Islamabad on Thursday, the fourth day of Eid, too, causing massive traffic jams on roads.

Long queues of vehicles were seen on IJP Road, Margallah Road, 7th and 9th avenues and Murree Road. To avoid frustration at the prolonged traffic jams, some people parked the cars, vans and buses along the roadside kilometers ahead of their destinations, especially Faisal Masjid, Daman-i-Koh and Pir Sohawa, and covered long distances by foot.

“I’ve been stuck in snarl-up for around 45 minutes but see little chance to reach Faisal Masjid soon. The holidaymakers have made a mad rush for recreational places across the city,” said Majid Sultan of Rawalpindi travelling in own car with family.

Heated exchanges were seen among motorists at some places over wrong parking and minor crashes. Though deployed in large numbers, the cops struggled to regulate the messy traffic. They insisted that the roads were crowded mostly due to the influx of non-locals.

The traffic police insisted that things would return to normal only after the coming weekend. In the day, Faisal Masjid, Daman-i-Koh, Pir Sohawa, Shakarparian, Pakistan Monument, Lakeview Park, Margzar Zoo, Play Land, Shahdara and Centaurus attracted large crowds of visitors.

The restaurants and fast food outlets also reported the huge influx of visitors. The pleasant weather contributed to the influx of visitors to recreational places. Since there were few public transport vehicles on the road, cabbies overcharged commuters at will. The filling stations recorded high sales of petrol, diesel and compressed natural gas in the day.