Court orders on heavy traffic must be enforced: commissioner

Karachi Commissioner Karachi Ejaz Ahmed has issued directives calling for strict implementation of the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) orders regarding a ban on the entry of heavy vehicles in the city. 

Ahmed chaired a meeting on Tuesday that was attended by traffic police officials, city administration and transporters' representatives. He said that the decision to keep these vehicles off the roads was important to avoid frequent traffic jams. Assuring the commissioner and city management of their cooperation, the transporters urged the commissioner to improve security measures at the Northern Bypass - one of three routes dedicated for heavy traffic - as many drivers avoided the route due to safety issues. 

On April 1, the SHC had ordered the traffic and transport authorities to check heavy vehicles set to enter the city for fitness as well as ensure the drives had valid licences before the vehicles entered city.  

Observing that more people were dying in traffic related incidents than in terrorist attacks, a division bench of the SHC maintained that over 200 people died in traffic mishaps last year. The bench, headed by Justice Nadeem Akhtar observed that violators of traffic laws were no less than terrorists.

The bench directed the concerned authorities to ensure that heavy vehicles without complete documents, fitness certificate and valid driving license did not enter the city.

The directives came on a petition of Faisal Bengali and others against plying of heavy vehicles on roads and residential areas of the city during daytime.

The petitioners had maintained that they were permanent residents of Karachi and distressed over of the prevailing traffic situation of the city that was deteriorating day by day.

Asked at the previous hearing to submit details of road accidents in which heavy vehicles were involved since the beginning of the current year, the DIG Traffic had maintained that the traffic police had no power to register FIRs of traffic accidents and requested the court to direct the government to establish a police station where such cases could be registered.

The court had also expressed dissatisfaction over the secretary transport’s report – also sought in the previous hearing - and directed him to formulate a policy or frame rules in order to avoid unlimited number of buses and coaches on any one route and to submit the policy within 15 days.

The secretary transport had informed the court that the government was taking steps to formulate a policy for passenger buses and criteria to check their fitness certification.

He had observed that new passenger buses will be inducted in the city to reduce traffic problems as replacement of old buses without induction of new buses would create problems for the citizens.

At the previous hearing, the petitioner’s counsel Muhammad Abdur Rehman had informed the court that the Supreme Court had directed the traffic police chief in August 2007 to immediately stop entry of heavy vehicles in the city during daytime and regulate their flow only between 11pm and 6am.

He said the top court had observed that except in special cases, the ban on entry of heavy vehicles in the city during daytime would continue to remain in force until further orders.