The most famous hill station Murree attracted a large number of tourists during Eid-ul-Fitr holidays particularly on Tuesday and Wednesday as they reached ‘Queen of the Mountains’ from different areas to enjoy the pleasant weather. Rawalpindi district administration had finalized all the arrangements to ensure security of the visitors and facilitate them particularly during Eid ul Fitr holidays.
According to a district administration spokesman, the DC urged the tourists to observe traffic rules on the roads of Murree to avoid traffic mess and any untoward incident during Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.
Special teams had been formed to facilitate the tourists, he said adding, parking of the vehicles was not allowed outside the parking areas. There was a complete ban on illegal parking in Murree.
He said main control room had been set up at Jinnah Hall in Unit office Murree, which could be contacted on 051-9269015-16-18 besides, Highway control room 051-9269189 and Traffic Police control room 051-9269200.
“The beautiful climate of Murree during summer attracts a large number of tourists so motorists face severe traffic congestion,” he said adding that traffic moves slower due to heavy traffic load as compared to the normal days.
He said, the DC had advised the tourists to avoid wrong parking, double lines, speeding and taking selfies in the middle of the roads.
He said, a special plan had been formulated for Murree under which 860 personnel including 500 cops and 360 CTP officials were performing their duties to facilitate the visitors.
Rawalpindi district police had launched Murree Tourism Police for the convenience and protection of the tourists. Patriata and Pahguari Police Stations had also been made functional for the safety and service of citizens and tourists. A specially trained force had been deployed for Murree Tourism Police, he added.
He said Rawalpindi district administration, district police and CTP on the directives of Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz had taken solid steps to ease traffic flow and facilitate tourists in Murree.
The officers of the district administration, district police and CTP were present in the field to monitor the situation. All possible steps were being taken to ease traffic flow and ensure smooth flow of traffic on the roads of Murree, he added.
Commissioner Rawalpindi Division, Noor ul Amin Mengal and Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi, Tahir Farooq visited Murree on Wednesday and reviewed all the arrangements. Due to solid steps taken by the authorities concerned, traffic flow was totally under control in Murree, he added.
Noor ul Amin said, “Following the instructions of Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz, the CTP will not allow entry of more than 8000 vehicles into Murree.”
He said that Murree has parking space for only 3500 vehicles and urged the tourists to observe traffic rules to avoid traffic mess or any untoward incident during Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.
Meanwhile, Regional Police Officer, Rawalpindi Ashfaq Ahmed Khan also directed the officers to utilize all available resources besides, taking all possible steps to ease traffic flow for facilitating the tourists in Murree.
He instructed the CPO and CTO to supervise all the arrangements while remaining in the field in Murree.
CPO Umar Saeed Malik on Wednesday visited different areas of Murree and reviewed all the arrangements finalized to help and assist the tourists.
The traffic police had stopped movement of heavy vehicles leading to Murree. The additional traffic wardens were also deployed in Murree to ensure smooth flow of traffic at the hill station during the Eid holidays, an official told APP.
According to Chief Traffic Officer, Rawalpindi Naveed Irshad, during second and third days of Eid-ul-Fitr, about 21,095 vehicles entered Murree and 13788 exited while 7307 vehicles were in Murree, he informed. He said Murree tourism police were working round the clock to facilitate the tourists, adding, the visitors in case of any emergency could contact Police Helpline 15 or Murree Tourism Police Helpline 1757.