Delay in shifting of prisoners troubles residents of Haripur

HARIPUR: The inordinate delay in shifting of prisoners convicted and facing terrorism charges from the Central Prison Haripur to the Mardan Jail has become a permanent source of inconvenience for the residents of the surrounding areas.
During a visit to the Jail Road in response to the complaints of local transporters and residents of surrounding areas, it was observed that the road connecting Khanpur and Taxila road from one side and Hattar, Taxila and GT roads from the other has been blocked for the last more than two years by the police.
After barricading the roads for security reasons in front of Central Prison Haripur, the administration has barred the public and private transport from using the strip of about two furlongs. The authorities have diverted the traffic on Railway Road, which is already in a dilapidated condition because of lack of proper maintenance for years and due to encroachments.
As the already congested Railway Road is unable to bear the heavy load of both light and heavy vehicles, the traffic jams have become a matter of routine.“Reaching the main Haripur Chowk from Jail Chowk usually takes five to 10 minutes but traffic mess prolongs the journey to 20 to 30 minutes. During school hours long queues can be seen right from Eidgah to the GT road,” stated Ahmad Din Bhatti, a resident of Mohalla Rajaabad near the Central Prison Haripur.
He said that taking patients to the hospital was a difficult task when the road is blocked.Irshad Khan, a political activist, said the administration allowed light vehicles between 8am to 8pm on the newly constructed road opposite the old Jail road that traverses Mohallah Afzalabad and Bani Wala Baba Road but it was equally difficult to travel through small streets reaching to Swat Chowk or back to Wapda office or T&T Colony.
“After 8pm, taking patients from the localities facing the prison building to city area is also a difficult task as they have to face hard questions coming to and from there,” he said. He added that people living in the surrounding areas of the jail and those traveling to reach GT Road or Hattar-Taxila road were facing numerous difficulties.
Mehmood, a resident of Mohalla Afzalabad, said locals support the efforts of police and security agencies for ensuring security of about 3,000 prisoners and of the people living in the surrounding areas.
He said that after the jailbreak incidents in Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan, putting the Haripur jail on high alert and ensuring its security was need of the hour but the administration should also take steps for addressing the problems of people. Quoting a source in the jail, he said the Home Department had approved shifting of the inmates facing terrorism charges from the Central Prison Haripur to Mardan by April 1.
He demanded the provincial government to ensure immediate shifting of all the prisoners facing terrorism charges to the Mardan jail.When approached, a jail official on the condition of anonymity confirmed the report that the prison authorities had banned all kind of traffic but did not tell for how long the ban would remain.
He said the jail administration was ready to shift high-profile inmates but the Home Department was the only authority to make the required arrangements.To a question, he said that due to heightened security of the jail following last year attack on a school in Peshawar, the activities including the education services by some non-governmental organisations have been banned for the last more than four months.