Herat City residents struggle with daily traffic jams

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Residents of this western city of Herat say they daily face uncontrolled traffic jams at peak hours but officials concerned remain indifferent to the matter.

Herat city residents accuse the provincial traffic chief of being incompetent to control traffic jams in the city and say that a two-minute distance could hardly be passed in half an hour.

They say lack of traffic lights at intersections and violations by drivers, particularly rickshaws, are reasons behind traffic snarls in the city.

Mobin Shah, a resident of Herat city, said, “Unfortunately Herat city has turned into an ungoverned state, this city has no leader, we have no traffic lights, neither rules and responsibilities, believe me I pass two kilometres road in two hours.”

Sayed Walijan, another resident, said, “The traffic department is the most incompetent organ in Herat, the traffic situation has reached a level where traffic wardens are unable to handle it.”

A number of drivers also criticized uncontrolled traffic situation in Herat city and said the problem would not be solved until the government, particularly the traffic department, took fundamental actions.

Jawad Amid, a civil society activist, believes that traffic and transport officials do not discharge their responsibilities.

Ghulam Habib Hashemi, a provincial council member, said that increased number of rickshaws in the city and violations of traffic rules by their drivers contributed to traffic disorder.

However, Herat traffic officials cite violations of traffic rules by drivers as the main reason behind the unruly traffic in Herat city.

Ibrahim Noorzai, Herat traffic chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News that more than 90,000 undocumented vehicles played roads in the city but a registration process for such cars has been launched.

He said one of the reasons of high traffic in Herat city was arrival of displaced people from neighbouring provinces where security situation was unstable.

Noorzai said thousands of vehicles were unregistered including 70,000 right steering vehicles and 80,000 rickshaws. A total of 350,000 vehicles roam in Herat province, he said.

He said shortage of traffic police officers was another issue as there were 80 officers for 90 intersections in Herat city.

Mds/ma

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