grew up listening to tales from my mother and aunt about how Lahore had had a very cultured feel to it. There was hardly any vehicular traffic on the roads in the ’60s and ’70s and they had walked from Mayo Gardens to Anarkali without a hassle. Children were often seen playing in the parks. The Lahore I see today is anything but that.

A couple of weeks ago, I left work and ended up getting stuck in a traffic jam on the Sherpao Bridge. After a 15-minute wait, I started feeling unwell, so I called the traffic helpline to inquire what the holdup was about. The simple three-letter response was: PSL. I was already a little unwell. This explanation made me angry too. I pulled down the window to calm myself down, but the sick feeling would not go away, so I looked for something to eat and found some Zeera biscuits in the dashboard. I had a few of those with water and prayed that I should reach home soon. It took three hours.

Every time you have to step out of the house, it becomes a battle of needs and wishes. You return home exhausted, with stressed neck muscles. I doubt if anyone these days leaves their home for leisure; maybe somewhere on the other side of Cavalry Ground life can still be a little fun.

Anyone who has lived in Lahore for years can easily say the city has too many cars and motorcycles now for comfort – a lot more than only a few years ago. Construction of roads and underpasses in different areas has made things worse. As if this were not enough, the rising prices of petrol are driving the inflation. Every time you have to step out of the house, it becomes a battle of needs and wishes. You return home exyhausted, with stressed neck muscles. I doubt if anyone these days leaves their home for leisure; maybe if you are somewhere on the other side of Cavalry Ground life can still be a little fun.

There can be argument against the government trying to improve the infrastructure and building better roads to facilitate the public, but they must also focus on the transportation system too. We need to reduce the use of cars and save some fuel. This is only possible if the public transport system is up to the mark and there is space for people to walk from one place to another. While travelling abroad, I have hardly ever used an Uber or taxi. Even a city like Dubai has a good public transportation system.

An efficient public transport system will also help improve the environment. There is hardly a day when we witness a clear blue sky or breathe fresh air in Lahore. Most people I know are suffering from respiratory problems or allergies. Instead of focusing on building new road infrastructure alone, let the authorities streamline the transportation system. This will save millions of man-hours as well as resolve many of our health issues.

The writer is a freelance journalist