Independent Report
QUETTA (November 12): Commissioner Quetta Division Zeeshan Lashari has ordered the preparation of an integrated traffic management strategy to address congestion, unauthorized parking and encroachments in the provincial capital, directing a joint team to survey five key roads within a week.
Chairing a meeting on traffic management, Lashari said the assessment would cover Spinny Road, Sammungli Road, Sabzal Road, Anscombe Road and Shahwani Link Road. The exercise would identify measures for regulating construction activity, clearing encroachments and improving the movement of traffic.
The survey team will comprise officials from the Metropolitan Corporation, Quetta Development Package, Traffic Police, Engineering Bureau and district administration. Its recommendations will subsequently be incorporated into a policy document to be presented before the court.
Officials briefed the meeting on enforcement measures already undertaken in the city. They said motorcycle stands and encroachments had been cleared from Zarghoon Road between Imdad Chowk and Akram Hospital, while action had also been taken against unauthorized parking around hospitals. Additional traffic personnel were deployed in the affected areas to improve regulation.
The meeting was further informed that commercial activities had been curtailed and encroachments removed along Anscombe Road as part of efforts to improve traffic movement.
Participants also examined a proposal to introduce electric rickshaws through a public-private partnership. Lashari directed the relevant authorities to assess the technical and operational viability of the proposal and submit a comprehensive report at the next meeting.
Metropolitan Corporation Administrator Bashir Ahmed Barech, Deputy Commissioner Quetta Mehrullah Badini and officials representing the district administration, transport and traffic departments attended the meeting.
Lashari stressed that effective coordination among the departments concerned and more efficient utilization of the city’s existing road network were essential to achieving a sustainable solution to Quetta’s traffic problems and providing relief to commuters.
