ISLAMABAD-Non-availability of parking area outside Excise and Taxation Office is adding to the miseries of commuters and employees of the nearby offices but relevant authorities are least concerned with the people’s problem.
The East service road of sector H-9 has become a difficult avenue in the city to commute since vehicles registration has started at the ETO office, while absence of traffic police in rush hours has also increased public difficulties.
Number of government departments including ETO, Higher Education Commission, a public library, boys college, and bank and plants’ nurseries are located on this road, but a large number of vehicles parked alongside the road and green belts make around two kilometers area a messy place to pass by.
Number of commuters and employees of the nearby offices while talking to The Nation complained that the traffic problems on this road had become a routine matter but authorities were paying no attention to address the same.
Naseem Qureshi said that traffic up to the HEC moved at snail pace almost all day long. He said that in the break time, around 2pm, the situation becomes worst and it takes half an hour to commute and pass the nearby traffic signal.
He said that majority of these vehicles and motorcycles parked from metro station bridge to HEC are here for excise and taxation office and it’s a daily routine.
A student Rabia Ahmed said that she had to visit the public library and had hired a cab to reach there but 20 minutes were wasted reaching here from the signal to taking u-turn and reaching the destination.
“I pay extra charges to cab for this waste of time, while there is no traffic warden here to keep the traffic in flow,” she said.
The Nation observed that the visitors of ETO office had parked the vehicles on green belt and the queue on some places was stretched to the 9th avenue also. Along with parked vehicles, a large number of cabs looking for passengers were standing and locked bikes were increasing problems of the people.
Waqas Ahmed, a visitor of ETO office, said that he took 3 turns from the signal to HEC U-Turn to search a parking place but failed and parked his vehicle on the green belt. He said that he was visiting the ETO third time for registration.
He said that there was safety concerns while parking the vehicle on road or green belt so he preferred parking his vehicle near the office.
“It’s indeed a misfortune that the traffic mess is right outside the vehicles registration office,” he said.
A spokesperson of Islamabad Traffic Police said that the single road could not cater for the traffic rush of the ETO office visitors, which had no parking.
He said that though a warden was deployed there but it was not sufficient in rush hours.
He also added that more wardens will be deployed in future to keep the traffic in flow.
The Nation repeatedly contacted CDA spokesperson Syed Safdar Shah for his response regarding parking of vehicles on green belt but he did not respond till filing of the story.