Despite the ban on motorcycle-rickshaws, traffic jams on almost all busy roads of the metropolis are causing troubles for motorists and commuters.
The traffic jam issue has become the order of the day, exposing the tall claims of traffic and other relevant departments who boast about improving the traffic system in the city.
The Sindh government’s Transport Department, Karachi Traffic Police, Traffic Engineering Bureau and KMC’s Transport Department are responsible for monitoring and improving the traffic system in the urban centres but all these departments have practically proved ineffective and thus failed to improve Karachi’s traffic system.
Karachi is the economic hub of the country where the worsening traffic system has become a curse for its residents and is also affecting the business community. The worst sufferers are the commuters who face immense problems while travelling to and from their homes.
In Karachi, the fuel worth Rs 400 billion is lost annually due to traffic jams, which directly or indirectly costs the Karachiites, says a NED University’s survey report. It also says that the traffic mismanagement has increased the rate of road accidents in the metropolis. Long queues of all types of vehicles are seen on city’s different roads, including MA Jinnah Road, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Tariq Road, II Chundrigar Road, Sindh Secretariat, Court Road, Saddar, Burns Road, Baba-e-Urdu Road, Main University Road, Prof Ghafoor Road and Johar Chowrangi. It has affected the common man and business community at a large level too.
When some commuters were approached in a busy Saddar area, they said there were four major factors causing traffic jams in the city, VIP protocol, illegal encroachment along roads, poor road markings, faulty traffic signals and poor training of traffic police officials.
NED University’s Prof Dr Usman Ali Shah said that the government should invest in the public transport sector which was directly connected with the common man. He said the authorities concerned should control the increasing vehicular congestion as it had now become very difficult for a person to drive a car in the city.
A LLB student Kamran said they feel dizzy when they travel in overcrowded public transport due to suffocation and congestion. He said the government should think about the citizens of Karachi which accommodates 36 per cent of urban population of Sindh province.
A business man, Abdul Gaffar, said the business community had been the most affected due to traffic congestion as they could not send their goods to their customers easily and timely. He said the government should declare traffic-free zones in Karachi and construct parking zones in busiest areas like Saddar.
Though Saddar has been declared a no parking area, with no-parking signboards erected everywhere, people park their vehicles in front of these warning signboards and even in the presence of traffic cops which speaks volumes about the efficiency of traffic police officials.
On the other hand, Sindh Transport Department’s Secretary Taha Farooqui said that only 6 per cent of the public transport was available for 42 per cent of daily commuters in the city which was very negligible.