KARACHI, Feb 3: Federal ministry for ports and shipping has given 50 motorcycles to police for containing street crime in the city.

The white-coloured Honda 125s equipped with wireless sets were handed over to the city police by Federal Port and Shipping Minister Babar Khan Ghauri at the office of Sindh Home Adviser Waseem Akhtar on Saturday.

Earlier addressing a press conference, the home adviser said police and administration were making all out efforts to contain the recent wave of street crimes while utilising all available resources. “The increased snatching of cellphones and vehicles is creating resentment and sense of insecurity among the masses as people were also killed in such incidents,” he said adding that 52 policemen were killed by bandits in the city last year.

While thanking the port and shipping minister for donating motorcycles, the adviser said the federal ministry had launched mega projects for the uplift of Karachi. He said the fleet of motorcycles would help control the street crime as police were required to move inside the congested parts of the city.

The home adviser told newsmen that about 5,000 policemen would be recruited shortly as the proposal for recruitment of Karachi police had almost been finalised.

Giving details of the distribution of motorcycles, he said six would be given to the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee, 10 each to police of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Saddar, Shah Faisal, Clifton and Jamshed towns, and four motorcycles would be given to North Nazimabad Town.

Babar Khan Ghauri announced 10 more motorcycles for North Nazimabad Town in addition to four motorcycles as he had won election from the vicinity. He emphasised the need to seek financial assistance from private sector to curb street crime as the federal government was also faced with the shortage of resources. He also urged the provincial government to allocate more funds for the police department so that the force could effectively play its role in curbing street crime.