Is anyone listening?
Besides the industrialists, there are also the employees, commuters and the local population who are severely affected as they use the road daily
The National Highway “repair and reconstruction” work has become a joke. It is a sad state of affairs that such an important road artery of the city is so ruthlessly ignored by the government. It seems that the government just doesn’t care.
The Landhi Association of Trade and Industry (LATI) has made countless requests to the government and National Highway Authority emphasising that industry is the backbone of the country’s economy and should be supported with a quality road and transport infrastructure in Karachi. Why is the government not reacting is the question.
There are multidimensional issues related to the broken National Highway. The National Highway Authority is simply indifferent to the persistent problems that the dilapidated road is causing to the entire industrial zone. In addition, it provides a bad image, especially when investors come to look at how investment opportunities in the industrial zone. When they travel along the road, they usually lose interest and revisit their ideas about investment in the Karachi industrial area. The number of such investors is reducing very quickly. At the same time, local businessmen are so sick and tired of the problems and delays caused by the National Highway that they are seeking to move their factories to other areas. They say that the transportation cost increases manifold and at the same time, the delay causes other costs to increase, which is inadvertently transferred to the price of the products.
The Karachi Industrial Forum (KIF) says these traffic jams affect businesses adversely as factories operating in the area endure huge production losses. Vehicle-lifting and mugging also dramatically increase during traffic jams. The peak hours are the worst as traffic is not controlled well, signals do not work properly and the frequency of accidents increases. In addition, the abysmal road conditions cause thousands of commuters to suffer on a daily basis. Foreign visitors and business dignitaries are also reluctant to visit the area, which has negative implications on future investment plans in Sindh.
Besides the industrialists, there are also the employees, commuters and the local population who are severely affected as they use the road daily. The National Highway Malir City Court, Karachi Airport, Civil Aviation Authority, the KE Bin Qasim Power Station, Malir regional offices and substations of PTCL, numerous railway stations as well as schools and colleges are all affected. The residents of Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Quaidabad, Malir, Saudabad, AzeemPura, Model Colony and Shah Faisal Colony suffer from the impact on a daily basis. What is alarming is that there is a significant rise in the crime rate. When the traffic stops and the commuters are stuck, the criminals take full advantage of the stalled traffic. Yet, as expected, the government doesn’t have time to give it any thought.
It is almost like Karachi is being milked to its maximum by the government without any visible investment to maintain the city. The concerns of Karachi’ites are addressed and voiced yet they are not heard. This is a very demotivating situation and, with no support from the government, the people continue to suffer but they still keep contributing to the economy though without having their basic problems related to infrastructure, security, hygiene and proper traffic control solved.
