KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to recruit 6,000 traffic police personnel to streamline traffic management and provide better traffic services to the people of the city.

It has also decided to expedite work on the BRT projects. In this connection, a groundbreaking ceremony for the Orange Line would be performed by the Sindh chief minister on Nov 5.

Besides, the government has finalised all codal formalities and decided to enter into an agreement with partner organisations to implement Yellow Line with a length of 23 kilometres and also to bring 100 new Daewoo buses on the roads to start the intercity bus transit projects in November.

These decisions were taken at a meeting presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah at CM House on Monday to improve traffic management and traffic facilities to the people of Karachi. Sindh minister for transport Mumtaz Jakhrani, inspector general of Sindh police Ghulam Hyder Jamali, principal secretary to CM Alumuddin Bullo, transport secretary Tauha Farooqui, Karachi commissioner Shoaib Siddiqui, traffic DIG Dr Ameer Shaikh and officers of the line department attended the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister directed the traffic police officers to fully implement the traffic laws and exercise their powers to ensure smooth traffic flow in the city. He agreed to amend the traffic laws where weaknesses were pointed out.

Bus projects for intercity routes planned

He said a bill for the establishment of the Sindh mass transit authority was ready, which would be tabled in the next session of the Sindh Assembly.

Referring to the traffic issues raised by participants in the meeting, including illegal parking, encroachment on roads, illegal traffic den in the city, standardising traffic signals, segregating heavy traffic by allowing it only at specific time and routes, he said imposing fines on traffic violators were the issues which could be resolved administratively by the traffic police.

The chief minister told the traffic police not to allow heavy vehicles in the city during business hours and segregate their routes and allow them to operate only at midnight.

Responding to low strength of traffic police, he approved the proposal for the recruitment of 6,000 more traffic police personnel to enhance their strength to meet the increasing requirement of vehicular traffic in the city.

He also took serious notice of killing of traffic police personnel and directed the Sindh police inspector general to ensure foolproof security, and provide bulletproof vests, helmets and weapons to traffic constables and depute more than one personnel at a site.

The CM also approved the proposal for introducing automation traffic management & control system in Karachi and asked the traffic DIG to work out and submit a PC-I scheme in detail for implementation.

Earlier, Karachi DIG for traffic Dr Ameer Shaikh, while briefing the meeting on traffic problems in the city, said that 3.9 million vehicles were registered in Karachi, of which 23,000 were buses running on different routes. He said there were 166 traffic signals being controlled by five different administrative organizations, and added that some of them were out of order. He said 900 new vehicles daily and 20,000 a month were being added to Karachi, creating traffic congestion. Besides, “we have 3,000 traffic police personnel against 3.9 million vehicles against the same strength in Lahore for its 2.6 million vehicles.”

Transport secretary Tauha Farooqui, briefing the meeting, said that paperwork on the Orange Line project of 4.7km length, totally funded by the Sindh government, had been completed and was ready to start work with the groundbreaking ceremony on Nov 5.

Mr Farooqui further said that the project of Yellow Line with 23km length and intercity bus transit project to bring 100 Daewoo buses were also ready to sign agreements in next month.

Transport minister Mumtaz Jakhrani said that due to normalisation of law and order in the city not only the traffic volume had increased but it had also attracted private investors. He said at present a group of investors was in negotiating with his management to bring 50 air-conditioned and 50 non-AC buses on the roads of Karachi.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2015

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