HAFIZABAD
The wild dream of the citizens to shift the two grain markets from the heart of the city, could not be come true despite a lapse of 12 years, causing a lot of hardship and inconvenience to the public due to traffic mess on all main thoroughfares.
The traffic hazard on the city roads has already created problems not only for the motorists but for the shopkeepers and shoppers, mainly due to presence of hundreds of push-carts and vendors who have occupied the busiest roads particularly Main Bazaar, Fawara Chowk, Vanike Road, Vanike Chowk, Alipur Road, Post Office Road and even in front of the TMA secretariat with the connivance “powerful officials” and with the abetment of a mafia including some so-called journalists, notables and public representatives.
It is to be noted that the Agriculture Department had acquired land for the grain market on Madhrianwala Road about 12 years back and since then, the citizens, transporters and other quarters have been requesting the authorities to relocate the grain market to the new site to ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic. However, since then the authorities have only been making promises to be broken and consoling the public with hollow words.
For the past four years, the administration promised to shift the market before the next crop season but it has failed to fulfil the promise.
As the new paddy crop has started pouring in the city markets, the traffic problem in the city has been further deteriorated mainly due the presence of overloaded tractor-trolleys. Nowadays it has become very difficult rather impossible for the motorists to reach their destination, not to speak of the pedestrians.
About six months back the administration had allotted shops to the rice dealers and commission agents in the new site but due to one or the other pretext, the grain markets have not yet been shifted to the new site.   When contacted, some rice-dealers said “come what may, they would not shift because they were owner of the shops in the grain markets”.
Local students, traders and social workers have called upon the district administration to relocate the grain markets to the new site and shift the push-carts in the old Sabzi Mandi on Alipur Road to end traffic mess from the city roads, rid the residents of various problems.
PROTEST: Internet broadband users protested against the non-operation of the network for about five hours.
According to the users, the service of broadband network often remained out of order in the city for the past fortnight causing a lot of hardship and inconvenience to them. They have called upon the network authorities to improve its service.
BOOKED: A local businessman was booked under Section 489-F of PPc for issuing a fake cheque for Rs one million to the complainant.
According to FIR, Javed Aslam Butt had lent Rs one million to Haji Nazir Ahmad Mughal sometime back for the immigration of his brother abroad. However, Haji Nazir neither sent his brother abroad nor returned the amount. He had recently given cheque for Rs one million to the complainant which was dishonoured by the bank.