September 12, 2008	Friday	Ramazan 11, 1429

KARACHI, Sept 11: Residents of Lyari Town are facing immense hardships reportedly due to flouting of all traffic rules by transporters at Lea Market.

According to area people, the upcountry transporters park their vehicles in the middle of roads particularly during the rush hours resulting in massive traffic jams almost on a daily basis.

For quite some time area people and local NGOs have been criticising civic authorities for not taking any action against transporters who have encroached upon government land near Gadap bus stop, government hospitals, schools and other public buildings.

Despite repeated complaints lodged with the relevant authorities, no action has so far been taken against these transporters and they continue to violate all the civic rules.

Admitting that they have failed to shift the transport business away from residential areas, the municipal authorities accused the police of non-cooperative attitude in this regard.

Over the years, Lea Market has turned into one of the biggest terminals in the city where a number of local intercity and inter-province buses, mini-buses either terminate or start their journey.

As the number of buses is on the rise and parking space is limited, the situation is turning from bad to worse.

Apart from these bus operators, encroachments around the market also contribute towards frequent traffic jams in the area.

Unfortunately, these encroachers are also freely operating by bribing the relevant authorities, alleged an area resident.

NGO representatives complain that the encroachment business is worth millions of rupees.

They claim that the upcountry transporters pay the restaurants and shops owners for parking their vehicles in front of their outlets.

The area residents have urged the authorities concerned to take immediate measures to control the situation and called for a complete ban on the establishment of booking offices of transporters in residential areas.