IN the last few years, a maze of flyovers has come up all over the city. Not all of them have been planned considering the principles of urban development, convenience and environmental impact on the people living or doing business around such concrete structures.

A flyover on Sharea Faisal at the Tipu Sultan Road intersection is an example of development devoid of planning.

This flyover was originally designed for the Mehmoodabad intersection on the west-bound track. However, former Nazim Mustafa Kamal ordered it to be constructed on the east-bound track without making necessary changes in the design despite the objections raised by the Sindh Planning and Development Department.

On completion, it could only be made functional after closing two arms of the Shaheed-i-Millat flyover. Though the signals on this intersection have been removed, it remains the most chaotic portion of Sharea Faisal mainly due to the traffic coming from Korangi and going towards Tipu Sultan Road.

Moreover, the airport or Malir-bound traffic has to go all the way to Shaheed-i-Millat and Tipu Sultan Road junction to make a detour. The service road between Tipu Sultan and Shaheed-i-Millat junctions has been eliminated, and the traffic flows both ways without any rules.

The Traffic Engineering Bureau may undertake some corrective steps to reopen the closed arms of Shaheed-i-Millat bridge to improve the traffic flow under this flyover.

The provincial government may assist the KMC technically and financially, if required, to ensure trouble-free and smooth flow of traffic on Sharea Faisal.

While political leaders have the privilege of identifying the development projects, the process of planning must be based on technical and environmental aspects.

Abdul Kabir Kazi

Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2016