RAWALPINDI: Working women and girl students have demanded the allocation of separate Metro buses and reservation of 20 per cent seats in every metro bus plying between Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The working women, particularly those working in government offices have said that the seats allocated in Metro buses were highly disproportionate to their strength and even on their reserved seats the male commuters were seen sitting. “We have to travel from Rawalpindi to Islamabad and back to Rawalpindi in a standing position in buses. We have to pass through queues of male commuters to move to our reserved seats as they block the passages,” a group of working women said. “Our reserved seats should be enhanced by up to 20 per cent in all the Metro buses besides allocating every third bus for the ladies,” they demanded. Encroachments occupy pedestrian space in Raja Bazaar: Bara Market, a pre-partition commercial centre that facilities whole sale and retail customers from the surrounding districts, is shrinking due to the encroachments, creating hurdles in the smooth flow of traffic and causing inconvenience to the pedestrians. The unchecked encroachments in the business centres speak volumes about the inefficiency of the local administration. The civic body claimed to have removed encroachments but a visit to the area showed that footpaths and roadsides had been taken over by the encroachers. The roadsides of the old historical busy street have been encroached by vendors and shopkeepers, leaving no room for vehicular traffic and pedestrians. “The local administration and the traffic wardens have failed to regulate vendors, creating hurdles for pedestrians,” a citizen complained. Amir Malik, an employee of a local shop, said he had to park his car at Liaquat Road as there was no place in the market. Raja Amjad, a shopper, said due the unavailability of space on footpaths and roadsides, they had to walk in the middle of the road. He said the encroachments blocked the traffic creating problems for ambulances and other emergency service vehicles as well. Lack of cleanliness irritates residents: Residents of the Cantonment area of Rawalpindi have been facing a lot of difficulties, as the authorities concerned appear least interested in fulfilling their responsibilities regarding cleanliness. Despite installation of 600 waste boxes, but at the wrong and unnecessary locations, the streets are mostly streets littered with waste. Apart from locals, the staff of the sanitation department started throwing wastage into the nullah of Faisal Colony, Khyaban Miran Bux, Aslam Market, Tench Bhata and Awara areas of the Cantonment. Residents are of the view that the authorities had fixed the waste box and containers at the main roads while there were no dustbins in the residential areas. They appealed to the authorities concerned to take appropriate steps to improve the cleanliness of the area.