KARACHI: Police up to old tricks as Ramazan arrives
KARACHI, Nov 16: As Ramazan draws near the vehicular traffic in the city starts suffering from the ills that afflict it every year before the beginning of the holy month.
Over the past couple of days the police have started to resort to the tricks that they play every year on unsuspecting drivers. It has been observed that a number of traffic signals are closed and the traffic is regulated manually, causing traffic jams. At times, traffic policemen fail to keep the flow of traffic smooth, leaving an impatient driver with little option but to find his own way. If the driver is caught in the process, he is made to part with a considerable sum of money.
At night the streetlights are switched off in various areas and traffic policemen pounce on drivers who try to violate the laws taking advantage of the darkness.
Taxi drivers allege that the police demand Rs30 or so after stopping them in a congested area, charging them with a minor offence, sometimes on a trumped-up charge.
In Liaquatabad, Saddar and some main shopping areas encroachments are not only resurfacing but also occupying spaces nearer the edge of the main road, leaving less room for the movement of vehicles.
After completion of the massive Liaquatabad Flyover earlier this year it appeared that traffic congestion would come to an end. However, it has been observed during the last couple of days that numerous vendors have started occupying the pathway allocated for buses and minibuses. Passengers waiting for their buses, therefore, stand on the road, exposing themselves to danger.
With winter also setting in, the quilt sellers can also be seen occupying pavements, especially in the congested areas of Liaquatabad, such as Firdous Market and Nairang Cinema. Saddar also has the same situation where a large number of vendors, such as shoe sellers and plastic goods sellers, are occupying the main roads.
A large number of old clothes’ sellers on Mansfield Street and eatables’ sellers on Mir Karam Ali Talpur Road can be seen. Interestingly, whenever a police mobile appears in these areas the vendors run into nearby lanes and streets. It has also been observed that cops pick up fruit from pushcarts without paying anything for them.
COACHES: The traffic police and the regional transport authority have failed to make the transporters quit the practice of setting down passengers without completing their routes.
The coaches plying between Gulshan-i-Hadeed and various parts of the city make the passengers disembark without completing their routes.
Commuters told PPI on Friday that all the four coaches coming from Gulshan-i-Hadeed — Muslim, Mehran, Burak and Friends — did not complete their routes, made the passengers disembark at Quaidabad and take new passengers. “In this way, we pay more than we should,” a commuter said.
“We have approached traffic police officials, as well as recently elected public representatives, to take action against the errant transporters but to no avail,” he added.
Commuters allege that the traffic police and the officials of the RTA receive a huge amount of money as “Bhatta” for allowing the coach operators to continue this practice.
IGP DIRECTIVE: The inspector general of police, Sindh, Kamal Shah, has issued directives to the traffic police department to ensure effective measures for the smooth flow of traffic in Karachi during Ramzan to facilitate the masses.
The IGP, while directing Traffic DIG Mohammad Yamin Khan about steps to help people, emphasized the need for ensuring that traffic jams do not occur.—Agencies
