KARACHI, Feb 1: Karachiites faced hardships on Tuesday owing to closure of various roads and thoroughfares by the police on the occasion of arrival of President Pervez Musharraf, ahead of Expo-2005.
The traffic police failed to regulate the movement of vehicles, and it caused sufferings to people owing to traffic congestion at many places. The traffic police had on Monday issued a traffic advisory to inform the people about the closure of some of roads on Wednesday and had asked them to use alternative routes.
However, the traffic plan did not mention closure of roads on Tuesday to facilitate movement of the president in the city. As motorists were unaware of road closures, vehicles got struck at many places.
Police and rangers were deployed on Sharea Faisal and the service road was made a no-parking zone for security reasons. In the evening, the police closed some other roads also, while the peak hours' traffic was on way to city centre. The roads were closed owing to the movement of the president to the Hindu Gymkhana.
The closure of roads created chaos on I.I. Chundrigar Road, Abdullah Haroon Road, Sharea Faisal, and other adjoining roads. The unannounced closure of the roads caught motorists unawares.
Heavy deployment of law-enforcement personnel was made around the Hindu Gymkhana and all along the route to the Army House. The deployment was also seen along Sharea Faisal from airport to the Metropole Hotel.
The police carried out a rehearsal of deployment of police and road closures from Club Road to Expo Centre near Hasan Square on Tuesday ahead of the formal inauguration of the international exhibition on Wednesday, which created congestion on city roads and traffic jams. The rehearsal continued in intervals throughout the day, police sources said.
