KARACHI: Defence show brings traffic gridlock, suspension of business
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 16: Life in almost half the city remained disturbed on Monday, as shopkeepers were forced to shut their businesses and traffic was diverted to alternative routes from Sharea Faisal and Gulshan-i-Iqbal on the eve of a five-day defence exhibition — “IDEAS 2002”.
Regular vehicular traffic movement remained suspended intermittently on the main University Road and Stadium Road near Hasan Square intersection, where the defence exhibition began on Monday evening.
Vehicular movement on Sir Shah Suleman Road and University Road was suspended repeatedly and diverted to alternative routes during the arrival and departure of foreign dignitaries, sources in the law enforcement agencies said.
Heavy contingents of paramilitary forces and police were deployed at and around the Expo Centre in Gulshan-i-Iqbal to enhance the security arrangements for the venue.
The shopkeepers and office owners on University Road from Hasan Square to Nipa roundabout and Hasan Square to National Stadium complained that they had been forced to shut their business activities from Sept 15 to 19.
They expressed indignation over the forcible closure of commercial activities by law enforcement agencies, which would inflict monetary losses upon them. They said if there was a threat of any kind, why was the exhibition being held in the heart of the city, again? They said in November 2000 (when the first defence exhibition was held), the police had taken similar action, and the people had suffered a lot then as well.
They claimed that the government had not paid compensation for their losses during the closure of their commercial activities in November 2000. Such sort of exhibitions should have been held outside the city, citizens added.
However, a senior official claimed that they did not issue any such sort of directives for the closure of commercial activities.
The parking of vehicles on either side of the main University Road from Hasan Square to Nipa roundabout, till and on Sir Shah Suleman Road, would remain banned till the exhibition ends. It would create problems for visitors and patients who needed to visit hospitals located on University Road, sources claimed.
A man who wanted to go to the airport to take his flight failed to find a taxi at the taxi stand at Hasan Square in the morning. He continued to look for a taxi, and was late in getting to the airport, where he came to know that he had missed the flight. He said the police had not allowed even taxis to park along the road or even on the service road.
Sources said that law enforcement agencies had established posts at various places around the venue of the exhibition, besides setting up various posts atop the surrounding residential and government buildings.
The surrounding buildings are being checked by the Bomb Disposal Squad daily, and the exercise would continue till the end of the exhibition for precautionary measures, sources added.
The police have gathered the particulars of the residents of the surrounding buildings and conducted a thorough inquiry into the personal characters of the individuals residing around the venue of the exhibition. Those residents of multi-storied apartments, residing in units facing the road, were issued instructions not to come out onto their balconies for five days. They were warned that if any untoward incident took place, they would be held accountable and interrogated.
Fire tenders and ambulances have been parked on standby at the SRP Base-IV adjacent to the exhibition venue and at the Milk Plant some two kilometres from the venue.
The venue of the defence exhibition — IDEAS 2002 — at the Export Promotion Bureau’s premises near Civic Centre, and the routes where the foreign dignitaries are scheduled to travel, have been placed under a strict security umbrella, sources claimed.
They said the heavy contingents of rangers and police have been deployed at all religious seminaries, mosques, imambargahs, multinational companies and US interests in the country.
A visit to several areas of the city showed that law enforcement agencies and paramilitary forces have laid a security umbrella and closed different roads intermittently in the city for vehicular movement for hours.
On Sharea Faisal, petrol stations were forced to close down their businesses, and a heavy deployment of rangers and police was seen right from the airport to the venue. Security was also tightened on Habib Ibrahim Rahmatollah Road running from Sharea Faisal to National Stadium and links with Sir Shah Suleman Road. Four speed-breakers situated on Habib Ibrahim Rahmatollah Road were levelled, as the road was used to transport armaments and other military equipment to the venue.
All the arteries leading to the venue have also been closed intermittently, causing traffic jams at Nipa roundabout, New Town intersection, Sabzi Mandi, Gharibabad and Liaquatabad No 10 intersection. Besides, the traffic on Metropole, FTC intersection, and other downtown areas was also disturbed, as the inaugural seminar was held at the Sheraton Hotel.
