KARACHI, Oct 21: Regular flouting of all the traffic rules by transporters at the junction of truck stand on the main Hawkesbay Road in Keamari Town is causing immense hardships and inconvenience to the area people and picnickers.

All types of goods carriers from upcountry arrive or depart here. The truckers have virtually occupied both sides of the road including the service road.

Residents say because of the haphazard way of parking of vehicles on this section, it always causes traffic jams. A complete chaos is witnessed during the peak hours of evening when the upcountry transporters also park their vehicles on the main roads, blocking the traffic in complete violation of traffic rules.

The civic agencies take no action because they act in collusion with the transport mafia which has become so powerful that it now controls all the routes in the surroundings of the new truck stand where they park their vehicles without fearing any authority, the residents alleged.

Hundreds of buses, minibuses and coaches also operate on this route carrying passengers of the nearby villages, besides picnickers who have to experience nerve-racking traffic jams.

As the number of buses is rapidly increasing, the space for parking is becoming more and more insufficient and the area is getting more and more congested leaving bus-operators with no choice for parking but the roadside.

During the past decade the number of these buses increased manifolds as more and more people particularly low-income groups visit the Hawkesbay beach sites.

The residents have demanded that the movement of these trucks be restricted within the premises of the truck stand and all the illegal structures built outside the boundary wall should be removed.

Moreover, they also demanded that traffic laws should be strictly enforced at the junction of the truck stand and violators should be punished.