THE ongoing construction of the metro line on MA Jinnah Road has made the police divert the flow of traffic through Soldier Bazar. The history of Soldier Bazar goes back to the 19th century. It was popular with English soldiers, who used to shop here in the early days of colonial rule.

Today, the main Soldier Bazar Road is being used as an alternative route for reaching M. A. Jinnah Road. Because of the extraordinary number of vehicles of all sorts using this road, traffic jams have become endemic, and a vehicle may take more than an hour to get out of the mess. The approximately one kilometre distance from Soldiers Bazar No. 3 signal to Parsi Colony takes from 45 minutes to one hour.

The municipal authorities’ negligence has added to the traffic chaos because of sewerage water on the portion from the Soldiers Bazar No. 1 signal to the Holy Family Hospital.

The few traffic policemen seem unable to control the situation and ensure a free flow of traffic. I ask the municipal authorities to clear the road of sewerage water, while the police authorities should post at least 10 to 12 traffic policemen at Soldier Bazar signals and at Holy Family Hospital.

Khawar Abbas

Karachi

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2019