RAWALPINDI: The business community has suggested the Punjab government shift wholesale markets, operating in the heart of the city, along the proposed Ring Road to end traffic congestion and control environmental issues.

“Traders are facing problems in transporting goods to northern areas, Azad Kashmir as well as within the city due to traffic congestion. Shifting of the wholesale markets along the Ring Road will not only help ensure smooth flow of the traffic but also tackle environmental pollution,” President Traders Welfare Association Sharjeel Mir told APP.

He said lack of parking space and frequent traffic jams in all downtown markets created a great nuisance for customers as the motorist’s covered a distance of minutes in hours because of encroachment-cum-traffic mess. Mir also suggested that a residential scheme should be worked out for the business community along the Ring Road to do their businesses near their residences.

Accordingly, he said representatives of various trade bodies had a meeting with Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali and conveyed their concerns, who acknowledged the problems being faced by the traders. Sharjeel expressed the hope that the present district administration would look into traders’ issues on priority and shift the markets to the city’s outskirts.