The barriers installed by authorities on various streets and roads denied entry to vehicles, causing severe hardship for commuters. Empty containers were put at almost every turning point from Numaish to Guru Mandir.
The haphazardly placed barriers troubled citizens in reaching their destinations on time.
Thousands of vehicles were seen stuck up in these areas, creating a huge traffic mess. Majority of the daily commuters faced difficulties in reaching some areas of Saddar and M.A. Jinnah Road, Sindh High Court and City Courts, as most of the entry points to these areas had been sealed.
“I reached my office very late as the minibus driver took right turn from Numaish due to a big traffic jam ahead. There was immense congestion of traffic on the Soldier Bazaar Road and onwards due to the crippling traffic jams," a commuter said.
The situation was the same on Friday night as well due to another religious activity near Guru Mandir and hundreds of vehicles got stuck for several hours.
A youth of New Karachi said that he had spent almost two hours at Guru Mandir Road on rooftop of an overcrowded minibus which neither can move forward nor backward.
There was a blockade ahead and a long queue of vehicles at the back, he said adding that he had reached his home at 1 Am after taking off from his office at 10 PM. “A person can commute from Hyderabad to Karachi in a time in which I had covered my way from Burns Road to New Karachi,” he said.
The youth demanded that there should be a separate place for such activities, rallies and sit-ins or a proper alternate route plan must be announced a day before these activities.