Gilgit, the administrative and commercial heart of Gilgit-Baltistan, is today grappling with a steadily worsening traffic crisis. One fails to understand why the relevant authorities have not yet demonstrated the resolve to undertake a significant expansion of the city’s main arterial road—a step that has become indispensable for mitigating the festering traffic snarls that now define daily life in this provincial metropolis.
Over the past decade, Gilgit has witnessed rapid urbanization, population growth, and a sharp increase in vehicular traffic. Yet, the road infrastructure has largely remained frozen in time, bearing little relation to present-day realities. The principal thoroughfares, designed decades ago for far lighter traffic volumes, are now choked throughout the day. The consequences are visible and costly: chronic congestion, wasted productive hours, excessive fuel consumption, rising air and noise pollution, and mounting public frustration.
It is instructive to note, as reported on social media, that the Rawalpindi Development Authority has decided to widen the main Murree Road by fifteen feet on either side to overcome traffic bottlenecks. While this initiative is commendable, it is expected to involve the acquisition of highly valuable commercial land, substantial compensation, and complex legal and administrative hurdles.
By comparison, a similar road-widening project in Gilgit city is unlikely to entail such prohibitive costs. Large sections of the city’s arterial road corridor still offer reasonable scope for expansion with comparatively modest land acquisition requirements. In many stretches, encroachments are limited and the commercial value of adjacent land is far lower than that along Murree Road. This makes Gilgit an especially suitable candidate for timely and cost-effective intervention—provided there is foresight, planning capacity, and political will.
Equally important is the situation in the bustling township of Danyore, where the Karakoram Highway—the region’s primary arterial lifeline—remains severely squeezed due to dense and largely unregulated commercial constructions on both sides. Here, the absence of properly designed pedestrian footpaths has created a daily hazard. Pedestrians are forced to share limited road space with fast-moving traffic, greatly increasing the risk of accidents and further constricting vehicular flow.
The provision of dedicated pedestrian footpaths on either side of the Karakoram Highway in Danyore is therefore an urgent necessity, not a luxury. Such infrastructure would enhance pedestrian safety, restore order to traffic movement, and help relieve pressure on the already narrow roadway. In urban planning terms, separating pedestrian and vehicular traffic is a basic requirement—yet one that remains conspicuously absent in this key commercial hub.
Beyond easing congestion, the widening of Gilgit city’s arterial roads and the provision of pedestrian infrastructure in Danyore would yield long-term dividends. These include improved emergency response times, smoother movement of goods and services, safer streets for residents, and a more orderly urban environment. Collectively, these measures would project Gilgit as a modern, well-planned regional capital worthy of its strategic and symbolic importance as the gateway to the Karakoram.
Delaying these interventions will only compound future costs—financial, social, and environmental. What can be achieved today with manageable investment may tomorrow demand far greater expenditure and disruption. Sound urban planning requires anticipation rather than reaction.
In sum, the expansion of Gilgit city’s arterial road network, coupled with the urgent development of pedestrian footpaths along the Karakoram Highway in Danyore, is no longer a matter of choice but of necessity. The relevant authorities would do well to act decisively while the opportunity remains viable, placing long-term public interest above short-term inertia. Failure to do so will only ensure that traffic congestion and urban disorder continue to erode the livability and economic vitality of this important regional metropolis.
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