LAHORE (The Thursday Times) — All roads leading to Raiwind will be closed to regular traffic from 6am until about 1pm on Sunday, as the second phase of the annual Tablighi Ijtema ends with its concluding prayer and participants begin the journey home, Lahore Traffic Police said.
Chief Traffic Officer Syed Abdul Rahim Shirazi said the closures would stay in place until the participants had left, and that regular traffic would be restored gradually once the roads cleared.
Routes to avoid
Both carriageways of several roads will be used for one-way traffic leaving the congregation. They include Raiwind Road from Pajian Mor and Qizilbash Chowk towards the motorway interchange and Thokar Niaz Baig, and the stretch between Bhubtian Chowk and Mohlanwal.
Restrictions will also apply on Sundar Road, which links Raiwind Road with Sundar Adda on Multan Road, as well as on Raiwind–Manga Road, Kot Radha Kishan Road, and Sue-e-Asal Road.
Vehicles will not be allowed to enter Raiwind from the motorway or the Lahore Ring Road while participants are leaving, and crossing will be barred at set points on Raiwind Road, Manga Road, Sundar Road, and Mohlanwal Road so that the outgoing traffic is not held up.
Motorcycles and rickshaws will leave their parking areas first, followed by cars and passenger wagons. Buses and trucks will be released last. Extra traffic wardens have been deployed, and officials have been told not to let vehicles stop or park on the main congregation road during the prayer.
Traffic police advised motorists travelling between Lahore and its southern outskirts to stay off Raiwind Road and the roads around it during those hours.
Hospital and dispensaries at the venue
Lahore Commissioner Muhammad Jehanzaib Awan visited the venue and its control centre on Saturday with Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali Ejaz to review security, medical, and municipal arrangements. He said a 10-bed hospital and six medical dispensaries had been set up for participants, that all departments had completed their preparations, and that the feedback from the organisers had been positive.
Capital City Police Officer Bilal Siddique Kamyana also reviewed security for the second phase at a meeting of senior police officers this week.
The Raiwind Ijtema, held by the Tablighi Jamaat at its centre on the southern edge of Lahore, is one of the largest religious gatherings in Pakistan. It has been split into two phases in recent years to manage the crowds, who come from across the country and abroad.
Road safety is a worry every year as participants travel in packed buses and vans. Last month, at least five people were killed and 27 injured when a bus carrying Ijtema passengers plunged into a drain in Hafizabad district.
