City’s traffic police chief complains other departments not assisting in overcoming issue of gridlocks on major roads
Karachi
With massive traffic gridlocks becoming an everyday problem for the commuters of Karachi, whether because of roads and flyovers being closed for repairs, security blockades, rallies or the opening of a new departmental store built without a parking lot, it is pretty clear that there will be chaos on the major thoroughfares during peak hours during Ramazan and the Karachi’s traffic police chief is desperately seeking the cooperation of other departments and higher authorities to overcome the challenge.
“There are 3.8 million vehicles plying the roads of Karachi and this is increasing at the rate of 900 vehicles per day,” DIG Traffic Amir Ahmed Shaikh told The News on Sunday.
“With only seven lifters at our disposal, no yards to keep impounded vehicles and shortage of cops, our department’s trying to do its best given our limited resources,” he added.
“Karachi doesn’t have mass transit system like those in Lahore and Islamabad and traffic pressure on its roads is constantly increasing.”
Speaking about the opening of departmental store on Rashid Minhas Road near Gulshan Chowrangi that created a major traffic problem in the area because it was thronged by customers but had no parking lot, The DIG traffic said such departmental stores and malls were built on major thoroughfares of the city without allocating space for parking despite being marked in the construction plan after which the builders were given a no-objection certificate.
“Shops are constructed on the space marked in the plan as parking space and customers park their vehicles on the roads creating hours-long traffic jams,” he added.
The DIG traffic had sent a letter to the deputy commissioner of the area informing him about the traffic gridlock caused by the lack of a parking space for the customers visiting Imtiaz Super Store recently opened at Moti Mehal in Gulshan-e-Iqbal.
He pointed out in the letter that as per the parking bylaws Chapter-24 of the Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations, 2002, parking in commercial buildings is mandatory but unfortunately no proper parking space was provided by the Imtiaz Super Store, causing public nuisance at large which will worsen in Ramazan.
He requested that the administration of the departmental store be directed to arrange a parking space for at least 1,000 vehicles or it would sealed in the interest of the public.
Unaddressed issues
The official said his department had written several letters to the Karachi commissioner and other quarters concerned asking for their assistance but several issues remained unaddressed.
“We have repeatedly pointed out some glaring issues including damaged roads and bridges, engineering defects, eroded road signs, encroachments, lack of parking lots and the violation of parking bylaws at 27 commercial buildings in the downtown areas, but apparently traffic problems aren’t a matter of priority for the departments concerned,” he added.
“Besides, there are also the issues of illegal charged parking at many busy locations of the city and encroachments that are further worsening the traffic problem.”
He noted that the authority concerned had failed to make it clear that legal charged parking contractors would park vehicles in a single line.
“Contractors allow double or triple parking on the roads by taking advantage ambiguous permissions.
He said it had also been observed that the builders and owners of several high-rise buildings, wedding halls, schools, and hospitals were violating parking rules and regulations provided in the Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulation, 2002 and the Sindh Building Control Ordinance, 1979. “Wedding halls are built on major thoroughfares of the city and this obstructs vehicular movement during evening and night hours, also causing muggings.”
DIG Amir Shaikh said that, in Karachi it was also noticed that, workshops/garages established on the main city roads for initiating joint adventure against them for hassle free flow of traffic. The official also pointed out that the owners of auto workshops had not only encroached entire service roads and lanes but also occupied around 1/3rd of main roads.
“Vehicles are permanently stationed in front of these workshops obstructing traffic. We have requested that a special task force comprising the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s anti-encroachment squad equipped with heavy machinery, police, and Rangers headed by deputy commissioners be formed to take action against such workshops.”
He noted that there were also roadside eateries set up on roads and footpaths in connivance with the local administration causing traffic jams.
“We have also asked the KMC to start a special drive against these eateries.”
The DIG traffic said these issues would create major problems for commuters during Ramazan, especially in the pre-iftar hours, if preemptive steps were not taken. He noted that MA Jinnah Road, New MA Jinnah Road, Tariq Road, Khalid Bin Waleed Road, and the roads in Saddar and its adjoining areas were particularly prone to traffic gridlocks during the holy month.
The official said in addition to issuance of traffic violation tickets, vehicles were also being impounded in accordance with the Section 115 of the Motor Vehicles Ordinance-1965.
However, as the traffic police had no yards, they can only impound a limited number of vehicles. Besides, because of the prevailing law and order situation in the city, impounded vehicles can’t be parked at traffic sections or on roadsides.”