Machh tragedy: Protest sit-ins cause traffic jams in City

LAHORE:The protesting organisations spread their Quetta Hazara protest sit-in to three more places in the city on Friday, causing serious traffic jams and panic in the city.

The sit-ins were extended to Imamia Colony Railway crossing on GT Road, Ferozepur Road near Chungi Amar Sidhu and Thokar Niaz Beg Multan Road, near Motorway exit. The GT Road sit-in caused serious hurdles in the traffic coming to Lahore from northern side and also obstructed the railway traffic which caused several hours of delay in the departure and arrival of trains at Lahore station. The Railway authorities apologized to the passengers for the delay and announced they were making arrangements for smooth running of trains. Besides, the protesters also choked the GT road, the main artery of traffic towards Lahore from the cities and towns on the north.

The traffic at the Motorway was also affected seriously by the sit-in at Thokar Niaz Beg as long queues of vehicles were jammed on Multan Road, canal road and other roads connecting Lahore to the cities and towns towards the south.

While the traffic on Ferozepur road was also affected badly by the Chungi Amar Sidhu sit-in, creating problems to the commuters of the eastern suburbs and towns of Lahore, and the Lahore Metro Bus service was also suspended for some time and later it was reduced to travel between Shahdara and Kalma Chowk only. The Metro Bus authority has warned the passengers of possible suspension of the bus service if the sit-in became violent or spread to other areas along its route. The sit-in choked the traffic on several areas in the city and affected the commuters overall situation badly as thousands of passengers failed to reach railway station, bus terminals of intercity transport and their work places in time.