KARACHI, Sept 3: Motorcyclists are nowadays in the grip of a campaign launched from Sept 1 by the Karachi traffic police to force them to wear helmets or face heavy fines.

The motorcyclists have, however, expressed concern over the way the traffic police are carrying on their campaign, and it was the reason the bike riders literally feel harassed and annoyed.

Motorcyclists complain that in many cases traffic police have been threatening them either with seizer of their vehicles or putting the rider in the lock-up for not wearing the helmet.

The motorcyclists have now two choices — either to be challaned or find the “other way” of escape.

Before this campaign, the provincial police made efforts during the last over a decade to make motorcycle users to wear helmets. However, the campaign could not prove successful as the government itself put the drive into back-burner thrice during the last several years. However, some months back, the government again came out with same vigour to implement the use of helmets.

Market sources said the campaign was basically aimed at facilitating some persons who wanted to make a huge profits from the flourishing helmet demand.

They said that the Sindh government had actually planned to launch a crackdown on bike riders (for not wearing helmet) in August, but the decision was deferred for political reasons because of the local body elections to be held on Aug 18 and 25.

Experts say in view of increasing traffic accidents, the use of helmets is beneficial for safety and security of motorcyclists.

DIG Traffic Capt (retd) Falak Khurshid said till 3pm on Saturday, some 10,434 persons had been fined for not wearing helmets and Rs 521,700 was recovered as fine at Rs 50 per bike. The traffic police recovered around Rs 250,000 from the bike riders in terms of fine from around 5,000 challan made on Friday.

He claimed that 25 to 30 per cent people now wear helmets after the campaign was launched on Friday as against five per cent before the campaign.

“We plan to achieve 90 per cent success,” he said.

To a question about harassment by police, he said there would be “harassment” if a person would not wear helmet. “Bike riders should wear helmets, and there would be no harassment,” the DIG said.

He said persons riding bike without helmets with their children are being warned only instead of being fined on the spot. But after two weeks, the police will see how to handle such cases.

Many bike riders (without helmets), who try to skip the way after seeing policemen checking, now throng Akbar Road to buy a helmet. The Akbar Road is the main market selling helmets and bikes.

In many areas of the city, roadside stalls have appeared overnight where vendors are selling Chinese helmets. The number of helmet buyers has grown manifold almost all over the city.

Vendors are having a field day and are charging higher price, taking advantage of the growing demand.

A helmet dealer on Akbar Road said the price of locally produced helmet has surged to Rs 350 from Rs 280 while Chinese helmet prices have yet to pick up.

“The market has enough stocks of well over 100,000 Chinese helmets, otherwise, the prices would have gone much higher,” the dealer said, adding that local producers in Korangi and Orangi are rolling out 2,000 units a day.

Many shopkeepers are bringing up locally-made helmets from Lahore. “It is unclear how far the local manufacturers are following quality standards.”

Two reasons can be attributed to making buyers hesitant in carrying helmet: one is the weather in Karachi which is hot and humid for most part of the year. Secondly the smoke emitted by the buses, mini-buses, rickshaws, etc., that causes problem to helmet users.

Only 50 per cent of 750,000 motorcyclists in Karachi wear helmets, market people said.