KARACHI: Traffic violations are on the rise in the megacity Karachi as traffic police and related civic agencies are sitting cross-legged, said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday.
He said wrong-side driving and violation of traffic light signals has become a routine in Karachi, as the traffic police, generally, are more interested in extorting bribes from citizens than controlling traffic and getting implemented the road rules. He said majority of bikers don’t wear protective crash helmets.
He said about 90 percent of rickshaws running in Karachi don’t have a registration number, valid papers or a license-holder driver, but the traffic police simply don’t care.
He said not only the traffic police are responsible for the road mess in the megacity, but also many other civic agencies that let road barriers removed to allow wrong flow of traffic at busy crossroads and not checking illegal and dangerous traffic short cuts.
He said an example of this malpractice is seen at Teen Hati where road barriers are removed for wrong flow traffic from PIB Colony to Lasbella even when a flyover is present on this route.
He said such malpractice could also be found in many other neighbourhoods of Karachi. Another bad example of illegal traffic is seen on Superhighway or M-9 where bikes, cycles and even donkey carts are seen on the main motorway near Suhrab Goth because both sides of the motorway means for side roads are occupied by truck, dumper and bus transporters, mechanics, vendors and Katchi Abadi dwellers. The NHA and other relevant civic agencies are just silent spectators like the traffic police over this mess.
In Karachi almost half vehicle drivers and majority of bikers don’t have valid driving license because the issuance of these licenses is a difficult and cumbersome process marred with corruption and too few driving licence branches in this vast megacity.
Traffic police should set up learning driving license desks at every police station and each and every traffic police post to ensure that no driver comes on road with a driving license.
Similarly bikers who not wearing helmets should be booked for traffic violations and fined heavily to discourage this dangerous trend. Moreover underage driving should be strictly checked.
He said illegal bus terminals are operating in Cantt Station, Sardar and many other areas of the megacity but police take no action against them. Similarly heavy traffic is allowed in the city during the peak hours after taking bribery which must be ended.
Altaf Shakoor requested the caretaker chief minister Justice Maqbool Baqir and IGP Sindh police, city traffic police bosses, KMC, NHA and all other stakeholders to play their due role in ending traffic violations in the megacity Karachi.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023