Qasr El-Ainy Street To Be Reopened: Interior Minister

Egypt’s Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim on Monday ordered for a major street leading into Tahrir Square to be reopened and for the walls blocking traffic to be removed, according to Al-Ahram’s Arabic news website.

Qasr El-Aini Street, a major thoroughfare running into the square from the south, has been barricaded on and off since late 2011 to prevent protesters from gaining access to the nearby interior ministry’s headquarters and the Shura Council, Egypt’s upper house of parliament.

Ibrahim also ordered the opening of Falaki Street, which bisects Mohamed Mahmoud Street and runs along the western side of the interior ministry building.

The ministry announced that the decision to reopen the streets was taken in order to reduce the troubles that many Egyptians have faced since the closures.

The walls in and around Tahrir Square have left parts of downtown inaccessible to both cars and pedestrians, causing traffic jams and forcing local residents to walk great distances around the blocked districts.

Some walls, like those on Mohamed Mahmoud Street or near the American University in Cairo’s downtown campus, have been torn down by the public.

Monday’s decisions to open the streets came during a meeting with police specialists and traffic directors who are drafting a security plan that will coincide with the increased access.

Ibrahim asked authorities immediately begin reorganising traffic in certain Cairo and Giza sectors.

Source : Ahram Online