KARACHI: Shifting of inter-city bus termini hits snags
By Latif Baloch
KARACHI, July 17: The inter-city bus termini located in different parts of the old city areas are not only a great cause of nuisance but also polluting the environment and compounding miseries of the area residents, a survey shows.
Though the situation is turning from bad to worst in every part of the city for past two decades despite several pledges by the authorities to shift the termini in the outskirts of the city, but the worst affected areas are Saddar and the Lyari towns where these termini are located
These termini are located in different parts of the city. Included among them are Lea market and Boulton Market, Taj Complex M.A. Jinnah Road, Cantonment Station, Patel Para besides Dawood Chowrangi Landhi Town, Main University Road near old the Sabzi Mandi where major bus termini are situated.
Considering the gravity of the situation, the residents called upon the government to give top priority to the problem and take effective measures for early solution of the longstanding problem so that efforts for creating an healthy environment in the city could bear fruits.
A visit of these towns shows that the whole area at the Lea market and the Taj Complex housing a number of clinics is occupied by large buses and workshops and garages.
Waste and oil of the vehicles could be seen every where in the area that not only give an ugly look to the area but also exposing the motorcyclists and pedestrians to accidents due to the oil scattered everywhere.
The residents said that these termini had made their lives distressed and uncomfortable as honking of buses and emitting smoke day and night were causing great health hazards to them.
Residents wondered despite their repeated hue and cry they could not understand why the government was reluctant to shift these termini to the outskirts of the city.
According to them, it appeared that either the authorities were helpless against the transport mafia or vested interests were involved in it.
In Lea Market, one of the most congested areas of the city, traffic jams has become order of the day due to parking of these buses along side the main road leaving very little space for the traffic and hindering smooth flow of traffic.
In Patel Para, tables and chairs of long distance bus operators on the footpaths compels the pedestrians to use the main road exposing them to traffic accidents.
The survey shows that many upcountry and long distance buses use the inter-city routes as short cuts to reach their destination resulting in the traffic jams at different places.
Though the government has planned to shift these inter-city bus termini at the Super Highway, National Highway and RCD Highway but no action has been taken so for in this regard.
The authorities had always admitted the gravity of the situation and assured the people that the problem would be solved but no concrete step had ever been taken so far in this regard.
