Illegal constructions add to traffic mess.

RAWALPINDI -- Illegal construction activities in the cantonment's thickly-populated areas have created traffic mess as the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has turned a blind eye to the issue.

Parking space in Saddar, the main commercial hub of the cantonment areas, and other markets is squeezing with each passing day as building by-laws are being ignored.

Under the law, plazas have to allocate space for parking but buildings have been constructed without proper parking space, forcing visitors to park cars on roadsides which creates traffic rush on main roads.

A senior RCB official told Dawn that in residential areas people had constructed houses violating the by-laws. Under the law, he said, only two-storey houses were allowed in a street with the width of less than 16 feet, but citizens have constructed three-storey houses in such localities.

He said in the past the building control branch conducted a survey after every six months but in the last six months no such survey was carried out to check building by-law violations.

He said in the monsoon season, a survey was conducted and action was taken to raze illegal constructions along nullahs and drains but the action was stopped soon...