KASUR-The rising number of motorcycle rickshaws being driven by untrained and underage drivers is now taking its toll on public lives, warranting stringent measures to discourage the trend.
During a survey conducted by The Nation, residents of different areas including Faiz, Ahmed Ali, Rab Nawaz, Irfan and Bashir blamed the traffic police personnel for the situation. "Indifference and inefficiency of the traffic police are behind the mushrooming number of motorcycle rickshaws in the city and its outskirts," they said. They added these vehicles have sparked panic among dwellers of Kasur city as they are usually overloaded and recklessly driven by young drivers which often cause accidents. According to a Rescue 1122 official, there occur many accidents on roads due to rash driving by underage qingqi drivers. He said that these accidents have so far claimed a large number of precious lives. People demanded the traffic police take notice of the situation and stop untrained drivers driving the vehicles. Meanwhile, citizens are faced with frequent traffic jams due to illegally established rickshaw stands at various places of Kasur City.
During a survey, residents of different localities told this correspondent that due to alleged indifference of the administration, illegal rickshaw stands have been established at Tehsildar Chowk, Kot Rukan Din, Railway Road, Old Lorry Adda, Qadirabad Chowk, Kot Haleem Khan, National Bank Chowk, Shafi Wala Chowk, Kutchehry Chowk, Steel Bagh Chowk and Shehbaz Khan Road of the Kasur City.
They said these rickshaw stands are causing serious traffic problems, especially during school and official hours. "People have to suffer severe traffic mess caused by these illegal rickshaw stands," they said and adding the commuters, especially students cannot reach their workplaces and schools timely. Besides, many traffic accidents have also been reported.
They demanded the government look into the matter and launch a vigorous crackdown on these illegal stands to get people rid of the difficulty.