KARACHI, Oct 2: The traffic police have worked out a comprehensive plan for a smooth flow of vehicular traffic during the holy month of Ramazan. The plan focuses on traffic regulation instead of imposition of fine on errant drivers.
Addressing a news conference here on Saturday, DIG Traffic Falak Khurshid said that the available strength of the traffic police was 2,500. He said that the city police chief had agreed to give 850 policemen from the newly-recruited batch. “We will hopefully get 200 policemen in the month of Ramazan which will certainly help us regulate the traffic flow,” he added.
Mr Khurshid said that the additional force of 850 policemen would not meet the actual requirement but the traffic police would make all possible efforts to improve the traffic situation in the city.
He said that the traffic police had been directed to focus on traffic regulation rather than catching and stopping errant drivers. “It does not mean that the traffic police will not impose fines, but they have been directed to regulate traffic especially during peak hours to avoid traffic mess,” he explained.
He said that the trouble points where traffic congestions usually occurred during Ramazan had been identified and an additional strength would be deployed at those points to regulate the traffic.
The recently appointed DIG said that the volume of registered vehicles in the metropolis had increased to 1.5 million and a constant increase of 414 vehicles on an average daily was being noticed. Besides, the city government had dug up 52 major and minor roads for repair and they had been closed for traffic. The road users had no option but to use alternative roads and the burden had been shifted to other roads. The encroachment along roadsides especially during Ramazan and hordes of beggars at traffic signals added to hindrance in traffic flow, he added.
Most of the roads had already been dug up before the DIG took over the charge, but he acknowledged that the city government often did not take him into confidence before closing a road for repair. “I do not mean to shift my responsibility to the city government but we have to sit together to devise a joint strategy for a smooth traffic flow in the city as it is the problem of all of us,” he remarked.
Replying to a question whether the Police Foundation had started inter-city bus service and got fitness certificates from the traffic police without meeting legal requirement, the DIG said: “The fitness certificates were issued before my posting as DIG Traffic.” However, he evaded the question that why he had not taken action so far since he was posted as traffic police chief.
He expressed his ignorance about a proposal about giving the traffic police under the city’s transport department. However, he observed that there was no example of such a system in the world. Sources in the transport department had earlier revealed that the proposal was under consideration and the aim was to ensure implementation of the transport department’s plans in letter and spirit.
