Traffic across city snarled as shoppers throng markets before complete lockdown

After the news of complete lockdown in the city from May 9 onwards circulated in the media, people of Karachi thronged malls and markets of the city on Thursday for Eid shopping, creating a chaotic situation and severe traffic jams in almost all the major arteries of the city that lasted even till Iftaar.

Many shopping malls in Karachi opened at around 6am in the city on Thursday. Thousands of buyers reached early in the morning as the malls were supposed to be closed by 6pm.

According to the traffic awareness and social media unit of the DIG traffic, Karachi traffic movement remained slow from 1pm until sunset in Liaquatabad No 10 and near Firdous Market due to a large number of visitors. The same situation was witnessed in the Saddar area where shoppers thronged Zainab Market and traffic was bumper to bumper at Fawara Chowk, II Chundrigar Road and different streets of Saddar. Traffic remained snarled at Gul Plaza, MA Jinnah Road, Jama Cloth Market and Tower from morning till Iftaar. Blatant violations of the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) were observed in different markets, shops and malls of the city.

In the commercial areas of Bahadurabad and Tariq Road, there were severe traffic jams and shoppers as well as shopkeepers were seen without masks, while markets were crammed full and people were seen walking shoulder to shoulder.

Due to a large number of commuters, traffic movement remained extremely slow on MA Jinnah Road, Sher Shah Suri Road, Rashid Minhas Road near Johar Morr and Nipa, University Road near Samama, Sohrab Goth, Nagan Chowrangi, Jail Road, Hyderi, Mashriq Center, Tibet Center and several other areas of the city.

“There were unexpected traffic jams on the streets of Karachi on Thursday,” said Salman who was making his way towards Gulistan-e-Jauhar from Nazimabad before Iftaar. All the way from Nazimabad towards Samama, he said, the traffic was moving very slow.

— Related story on SOP violations in District East on page 14