Afghanistan-bound trailers wait for hours on Ring Road

PESHAWAR: Hundreds of trailers on the way to Afghanistan have to wait in long queues for several hours on the Ring Road as two bridges connecting Peshawar with Khyber district are under construction for the last couple of weeks.

The trailers can be seen parked on the Ring Road from the Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) till Hayatabad. The drivers and their assistants have to suffer for long till they are allowed to pass the lone route that connects Khyber with Peshawar.

Besides, parking of such a large number of trailers and trucks on the road is causing accidents and inconvenience to the motorists.

Residents of Hayatabad too have been complaining about the trucks and trailers passing through this residential area and causing risk to the people, particularly children.

The Takhta Baig-Matani road connects Peshawar with Khyber district and heavy traffic bound for Afghanistan has been plying this route.

“The district administration after an assessment of the C&W department’s warning about the condition of the bridge wrote to all concerned that traffic on this route be immediately stopped. Subsequently, traffic on this busy route was stopped two weeks back,” an official said on Tuesday.

He said the other bridge is 100 meters away but it is also being repaired after getting damaged. Presently, there is only one way to let this heavy traffic pass within the bounds of Peshawar district and that is through the Ring Road and Hayatabad,” an official said on Tuesday.

The official pointed out that the Traffic Police have been struggling to manage this heavy load of traffic and has deputed staff overnight to cope with the situation. He said every effort is being made in coordination with the police in Khyber to tackle the problem. “The work needs to be expedited on the repair and construction of both the bridges so the heavy traffic can be diverted there,” said the official. Locals said that an alternate road through Achini village is also being constructed and it can connect Ring Road with the Frontier Road bypassing Hayatabad once work is completed and it is opened for heavy traffic.