KARACHI: Closure of major roads troubling commuters
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Dec 23: Closure of the one track of three major dual carriage ways in different parts of the metropolis for repairing and re-carpeting has been causing traffic mess in various areas.
The city government has started the repair work on Nawab Siddique Ali Khan Road in Nazimabad, forcing road users to adopt alternative routes. This has created traffic jams on several connecting roads. The city government has already dug up one track of Jehangir Road for development work diverting the traffic to either Jamshed Road or Nishtar Road.
Normally, the people coming from North Karachi, North Nazimabad, Federal B Area, etc. prefer to use Nawab Siddique Ali Khan Road and hit Lasbela Chowk. The city government's initiative to dig up the road, right from Nazimabad Chowrangi up to Lasbela Chowk, has been forcing them to use other options.
Those who do not know about the partial closure of the road are caught in a mess of cars, jeeps, buses, minibuses, trucks, water tankers, motorcycles, ultimately aggravating the situation at Nazimabad Chowrangi.
The traffic police are seen busy diverting the flow either towards Pak Colony or Teen Hatti, where the commuters are faced with a similar clogging due to the partial closure of Jehangir Road. Prolonged traffic jams also occur at Lasbela Chowk as commuters do not find a passage through Nazimabad Chowrangi.
Besides, traffic jam is witnessed at Teen Hatti roundabout where one track of the dual carriageway of Jehangir Road has been closed since mid-October. Due to the diversion of traffic from Lasbela to Teen Hatti, the traffic jam and mess up repeatedly occur on S. M. Taufeeq Road, as well as the open track of Jehangir Road.
The impact of traffic jams is felt at Dak Khana and Guru Mandir intersections also. After finding no clear way around, the motorists converging on Jail Road drive towards the Jail Chowrangi on their alternative way to Purani Numaish.
This results in traffic jams on New M. A. Jinnah Road, too, where the traffic often moves at a snail's pace on both of its tracks. Those aware of the road closures drive through Gulshan-i-Iqbal which leads to traffic congestion at Hasan Square.
Many motorists coming from Nipa Chowrangi usually do not hit Rashid Minhas Road to drive along the Drive-in as one track of this road also has been closed for repair. They would rather go towards Hasan Square and then take a left turn to hit Sharea Faisal.
Besides, people, coming from Federal B Area, took on the route running inside the Block 13-D, in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and hit Hasan Square intersection. Due to the heavy movement of vehicles, the narrow streets could not sustain the extraordinary traffic load and chocked near the Gilani Railway Crossing.
However, traffic police reached there after half an hour of the traffic jam and cleared the flow of traffic, which remained moving at snail's pace. Besides, traffic remains jammed also on Abdullah Haroon Road near the US Consulate, Club Road, Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road and in parts of Clifton.
City government officials maintain that the funds meant for development would lapse if work on the already approved uplift schemes was not initiated now and complete before the end of the current fiscal year.
DIG Traffic Yameen Khan said: "I have instructed the traffic police to be present on roads and clear the jams. We are using all available traffic police strength to avoid tailback at different places and doing whatever we can do."
