KARACHI, Feb 20: Massive traffic congestion made the life of motorists and commuters miserable in and around Merewether Tower on Monday, the first day of the implementation of new traffic plan.

As the plan was devised in haste by the traffic and communication department of the city government officials, it not only created problems for commuters but for the vehicular traffic on M A Jinnah Road.

Edhi ambulances also got stuck in the deluge of traffic as Edhi Head Office at Tower remained crowded and vehicles could not be despatched to various city areas.

Buses, minibuses, and coaches were seen in long queues right from the turning of Talpur Road to Jinnah Bridge and the traffic police could not regulate the traffic flow.

The clogging of vehicles flow in front of Mithadar police station, on M.A. Jinnah Road created a mess on the main artery and its link roads.

The M A Jinnah Road remained jam-packed between Merewether Tower and Lighthouse traffic signal. The impact of the crowded artery was felt on adjoining roads also. Traffic jams were also seen at Denso Hall, New Chali, City Courts, and several streets that link M A Jinnah Road with Shahrah-i-Liaquat.

People said modification in traffic routes was incomprehensible as it created trouble for commuters. Instead of facilitating commuters, they were made to suffer for having no vehicle. The shuttle service plan also did not work as there were few buses.

The Edhi Foundation officials said that the ambulances parked outside the head office at Merewether Tower could not move owing to congestion. They said the re-routing of traffic on M A Jinnah Road not only created problems for people, but also caused jams in front of their offices, blocking the way of ambulances.

They said that three incidents were reported in the adjoining vicinity but ambulances reached there almost in an hour. One road accident occurred on Jinnah Bridge, the second on Mai Kolachi Road and the third near ICI bridge. The distance could have been covered in minutes, but due to traffic congestion, ambulances were delayed.

DIG Traffic Falak Khurshid said the new plan no doubt created problems, but the traffic police were trying to streamline the flow.

“We have made modifications in the original plan for public transport terminating at Merewether Tower. We have convinced transporters to negotiate a turn on Talpur Road to enter Shahrah-i-Liaquat instead of proceeding towards Merewether Tower.”

Executive District Officer (EDO) Transport and Communication Department of the City Government Mohammad Athar said it was the first day of the implementation of the plan and it was being expected that the mess would be cleared in the days to come.

Chief of the major transport group — Karachi Transport Ittehad — Irshad Bokhari regretted that the transporters were stakeholders, but were not invited to meetings when policy was being devised for new traffic plan. However, he said that they were invited to subsequent meetings.

“We were not ready to take a turn from Talpur Road instead of proceeding to Merewether Tower. Our 14 routes terminate at Tower, which include almost 1,000 buses. Our passengers want to alight at Tower but due to traffic situation, I personally gave a green signal to the DIG Traffic to make the buses turn at Talpur Road while coming from M.A. Jinnah Road.”

He said that if transporters did not feel satisfied and if commuters made an outcry, we will ask the traffic police to allow all buses of the 14 routes to terminate at Tower.