The opening of a supermarket on main Rashid Minhas Road in Gulshan-e-Iqbal has turned out to be a source of nuisance – not alone for the area residents but also for the motorists.
Huge traffic jams were witnessed in the area after the outlet’s opening on Friday. Commuters were left stranded in the gridlock for hours, leaving traffic police helpless in clearing snarl-ups. The supermarket is rather a bane for commuters as the journey of a few minutes takes several hours which tests their patience under the scorching sun. The absence of proper and sufficient parking facilities at the supermarket is the main reason behind the chaos. It may be mentioned that another famous supermarket is also located opposite to the road. Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah has taken notice of the incident and ordered an inquiry into the illegal parking outside the supermarket.
REGAL CHOWK BECOMES PARADISE FOR ILLEGAL PARKING
The busy area of Regal Chowk has become a paradise for illegal parking causing grave inconvenience to citizens.
Notwithstanding that Regal Chowk is a strictly no-parking and tow-away zone, a large number of vehicles and bikes are parked in this area, even in the presence of traffic cops. Many of these vehicles belong to shopkeepers themselves who park them outside their shops and markets in sheer violation of the law and rules.
Ironically, the parking areas of the markets and multi-storey buildings in Saddar and Regal area have been illegally converted into shops and godowns but the Sindh Building Control Authority does not take any action against this breach of law.
During peak traffic hours, it is very difficult to pass through the Regal Chowk area due to presence of hundreds of vehicles parked illegally along both sides of streets. The traffic cops deployed in the locality are not interested to take action against the illegal parkers.
The government had announced to make the whole Saddar area a no-parking and pedestrian-friendly zone, but this decision is not yet implemented.
The citizens have demanded of the chief minister, Sindh governor, local government minister, commissioner Karachi, administrator KMC, DIG Traffic and other concerned authorities to take notice of the malpractice and ensure that illegal parking in the Regal Chowk and Saddar areas is discouraged. It is against the public good to torment hundreds of thousands of citizens for the benefit of a few dozen shopkeepers.
The CDKC car parking plaza is at the walking distance and the traffic police and KMC staff should encourage the motorists to park their vehicles in this spacious car parking plaza instead of parking them on streets, creating serious traffic jams.
ILLEGAL PARKING UNDER GIZRI FLYOVER CAUSES POLLUTION
Illegal parking of vans, taxis, mini-trucks and other vehicles under Gizri flyover have deteriorated environment in the VIP area of Karachi.
The illegal parking seems to be clear inefficiency of the authorities concerned which causes traffic jams and dirty atmosphere. Because of the rush of vehicles, dust flies the whole day along the flyover area causing air pollution and nuisance which affects residents’ health. This also spreads dust to hotels and shops along both sides of the flyover.
The illegal parking and encroachment under the flyovers are increasing with each passing day ruining Gizri’s beauty and importance. This menace has also decreased the value of the area where foreign embassies are also located.
It seems that authorities do not have any responsibility to remove these encroachments which cause environment pollution, irritation and congestions.
Many flyovers in Karachi are under encroachments either by vehicles and pushcarts in connivance with relevant authorities.
Karachi is the megalopolis and is the business hub of the county; therefore, it is the need of the hour to keep its flyovers including Gizri’s free of encroachments and hurdles, so that citizens could live a peaceful life.
Again took a notice – without doing anything ? This place and traffice Jam due to the parking mafia is one place. This can be seen on every street of Karachi. All BHAIs have their make-shift- restaurants on even the foot paths of Karachi. The other day, the Traffic Police, under the physical presence of their AIG, removed one parking lot in Hydri commercial area. The other day two Traffice Policemen were gunned down in Aisha Manzil area – as retaliation for uprooting the parking lot in Hydri. The Mafias are the boss in Karachi – the city of lights that used to be.
Again took the Notice – without doing any thing. This place could be one of the thousands in Karachi. The Parking Mafias and the Road-side restaurants all over Karachi and owned by some BHAI, have made the life difficult even for the pedestrians. The other day, traffic Police uprooted a mafia-run parking area supervised by their AIG himself. Next day two traffic Policeman were gunned down as retaliation. The MQM led mafias are more powerful than the authorities.
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