RAWALPINDI – The Traffic Warden System introduced in Rawalpindi on the lines of Islamabad Model Traffic Police has not produce the desired impact on traffic flow due to flaws in the initial training of the personnel which was inadequate to handle the heavy responsibility entrusted to them.
The new system was introduced in haste without improving the road network and traffic signals of the city, sources said, adding that, instead of regulating the traffic flow and facilitating the citizens, the traffic wardens have often been found engaged in brawls, exchange of hot words with the commuters resulting in registration of cases against the commuters and making the situation messier.
Traffic jam on the road is a routine that compels the wardens to switch off traffic signals and regulate traffic manually,” said a commuter. The commuters were of the view that switching off traffic signals and manually management of traffic by the wardens was the main reason for traffic mess on the main roads.
A commuter said the wardens had failed to manage traffic load in the city despite their good strength. He alleged that many traffic wardens disappeared from the assigned points throwing traffic into chaos.
He said the residents of the areas like City Saddar Road, Ratta Amral Road, Gawalmandi and Kashmiri Bazaar suffered the most due to wardens’ traffic mismanagement. “Traffic wardens do not have ability to manage traffic. Smooth flow of traffic on Benazir Bhutto Road has become a dream for the motorists, as the worst traffic jam from Committee Chowk to Naz Cinema Chowk have become a routine,” the commuter said.
They said long queues of vehicles on BBS Road and Raja Bazaar have exposed the mismanagement of traffic wardens. Proper traffic signals should be installed on the roads, which were the only solution to improve the traffic mess, they added.