THE commuters travel routinely from Hyderabad to Jamshoro, Kotri, Thatta and Karachi via the National Highway, using an overhead bridge over the Indus River. These commuters pay heavy toll charges for utilising the road facility managed by the National Highway Authority (NHA). Toll tax is about keeping a road in good shape that may guarantee the safety of the people using it. Has the NHA ensured that?

The NHA seems to be unaware that over 20,000 students, faculty members and university staff commute to Jamshoro for education purposes every day. The road needs to be kept in a proper shape to handle such a traffic volume, but the NHA has ignored the poor situation of the bridge that can result in a tragic incident and even loss of lives.

A few months ago, a truck fell into the Indus and two individuals lost their lives. Does the NHA feel any remorse and responsibility over such a sorry state of the bridge? According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) key facts on road traffic injuries, about 1.35 million lives are lost globally in road accidents, while these accidents cost many countries up to 3 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP).

More than half of all road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users — pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists — while 93pc of the world’s deaths on the roads occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), although these countries have nearly 60pc of the world’s vehicles. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death of children and young adults aged 5-29 years.

In Pakistan, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, in 2019-20, a total of 9,701 accidents occurred nationwide of which fatal accidents were 4,403 and non-fatal 5,298. However, 5,436 persons were killed and 12,317 were injured, and 12,894 vehicles were involved.

The facts clearly portray that the transport system in Pakistan itself is unsafe, uneconomical and uncomfortable. It points out that the country’s transport operates in a seriously disorganised fashion, and that the poor condition of roads and bridges makes matters worse.

The NHA must take notice of the precarious condition of the bridge in question and make travel safe for the commuters who have no option but to use this bridge for their inter-city travelling.

Furqan Hyder Shaikh
Jamshoro

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2022