The tension in the capital of Pakistan is increasing day by day due to political drama. There is chaos in the air and all signs point to a clash between political parties over transparency and accountability.
PTI chairman Imran Khan aims to lead another rally against PM Nawaz Sharif’s administration, which — according to Mr. Khan — Â will see more people participate compared to last year’s famous D-Chowk rally.
Keeping political affiliations aside, an event such as this can disrupt everyone’s daily routines.
It is expected that normal life and routines will be disrupted. In order to minimize the effect of potential scenarios that could make life harder for common citizens, ProPakistani has made this guide to keep your routine going.
You may expect mobile networks shutdown. You may face television blackouts. And more.
Here is how you can stay prepared in case the worse comes to pass.
1) Check for Traffic and Roadblocks with Google Maps
Google Maps are the ultimate solution to keep yourself up-to-date on your traveling routes. In fact, the app has recently enabled real-time traffic updates on it.
You can also designate Home and Work Locations in your maps. This is important because Maps will reroute your preferred destination if the routes are closed by the government officials or if the protest is happening. All you need to do is take the following steps if own a smartphone:
- Make sure you are signed in.
- Open Google Maps.
- Click Menu.
- Open Your Places.
- Go to Labeled.
- Choose Home or Work.
- Type your Home or Work address.
- Select Save.
Note: You can add any destination and rename it from Home or Work to anything you seem fit.
To use Google Maps without the internet connection, follow this ProPakistani guide.
If you do not want to use Google Maps, here are the alternative ways.
2) Twitter Search
Another fantastic way to keep track of live news is Twitter Search. People often update their timelines with latest information which can also help you. All you need to do is define keywords i.e. places where you want to go.
Your keywords could be express highway, dharna, road block and so on.
To conduct a thorough search, here’s what you need to do:
- Open your Twitter application.
- Tap on the magnifying glass icon.
- Enter your search in the search box and tap search.
- Results will contain information about Everything, combination of people, Tweets, News, and more
- You can tap on the setting icon to redefine your search i.e. Everything, Photos, Videos, News and People.
- Content from All people or People you follow can also be chosen along with Everywhere or Near You.
Here’s an official guide to help you more on the advanced search usage on Twitter.
3) Follow @IsbRwpTraffic
This Twitter account is a dedicated traffic account which is updated on regular intervals to provide you the latest information. Since the majority of the protests are expected to be confined to the twin cities, you can follow this account to stay updated.
Other cities also have similar Twitter accounts as well.
4) Watch TV Channels Online
If you are enroute and happen to have Internet connection on your smartphone, then all you need to do is open Watch Internet TV website to keep up with televised updates.
Here’s how you can use it:
- Open website.
- Select Pakistan from drop down list of TV by Country.
- In a panel below, all available news channels will appear, which include:
- Aaj TV Live.
- Abb Tak News.
- Ary News.
- Capital TV.
- Channel 92.
- Waqt TV.
- Vsh News.
- Express News.
- Dawn News.
- Dunya TV.
- Samaa TV.
- After selecting the channel, press play and you will be able to watch the live stream.
In case there are any disruptions in tv transmissions, you can rely on internet tv to check up on news and developments.
Be sure to remain safe and inform others as you are informed.
