Traffic in the capital

Anybody who has visited Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad will note that there is always a traffic jam at the entrance to the Emergency Ward. This is mainly due to the fact that the road is narrow and made worst by people parking their cars on the road. This road needs to be widened. As there are several large schools in the vicinity of the hospital, the traffic jam gets even worse at school opening and closing times. Since Shifa International Hospital and Medical School is privately run, the least the Islamabad administration can do is to donate land on which the hospital can build a multi-storey parking lot. It would be a public service to all the staff, students, patients and the attendants who visit this hospital.

The Islamabad administration has built parks, playgrounds, graveyards and provides ambulance services, so donating land should be in line with providing service to the public at large. For those who may object to the donation of land, here I would like to recall that the Punjab government donated land for the Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital which has benefited hundreds of thousands of cancer patients. In the meanwhile the Islamabad administration is requested to look into how the traffic situation can be improved as with each passing day the traffic jams will get worse. One suggestion is to open the empty space next to the hospital’s parking lot. The other is to convert the green space into a parking lot while ensuring that a minimum number of trees are cut down. I believe sick people have priority over trees. It would be a shame if Islamabad begins to look like Karachi.

Syed Hussein El-Edroos

Islamabad