KARACHI, Jan 11: Traffic mess has become a matter of routine on a key commercial route linking Saddar Town with Lyari Town via Lea Market and the relevant authorities seem to have no plans to control and manage the traffic.

Frequent traffic jams on the route between Lea Market and Denso Hall through North Napiers Road are caused due to illegal parking of vehicles on both sides of the road where various markets such as Khajoor Bazar, Juna Market, Khori Garden and chemical market etc are situated. The route is also connected with the city, sessions and district courts through its link arteries

Since the entire area is without a designated parking zone, both sides of the road have been converted into a parking lot creating hindrance in the smooth flow of traffic.

Due to frequent jams on the route, it usually takes hours to reach Denso Hall which is hardly a 15-minute drive from Lea Market.

However, no action has been taken so far from the authorities concerned to control the situation. Though a ban had been imposed on the movement of goods carriers, the situation remains unchanged because of movement of inter-city buses.

Moreover, upcountry transport which also passes through this route also creates disruption in the normal flow of traffic. The traffic police, on the other hand, are more interested in catching the traffic offenders instead of regulating the traffic or guiding the motorists.

Police always blame transporters for flouting rules by parking their vehicles in a haphazard manner on both sides of the route.

A survey of the area shows that there is no place left open by the illegally parked vehicles on the entire route and it seems that the situation has gone beyond the control of traffic police, a resident pointed out, saying that pedestrians could hardly walk even on footpath.

A little lesser problem in the area is created by roadside encroaches and vendors against whom campaigns had been launched repeatedly in the past but failed to yield results.