THIS is with reference to the letter ‘Beggars having a field day in Karachi ahead of Eid’ (March 23). I am writing these lines to stress that the beggars were not alone; they had the good company of traffic police on the streets of Karachi all through the month.

With just a day — at best, two — to go for Eid, the traffic police force in Karachi will be wondering why all good things in life come to an end. Why, oh why? Lest it be mistaken, the officials would not be referring to the end of Ramazan. I mean, yes, of course, they would be lamenting the end of Ramazan, but not quite the spiritual aspect that is generally associated with the holy month.

What they will be missing is the money-minting aspect of the month. The zeal with which traffic officials, operating in herds, pounced on motorists and motorcyclists across the month was really jaw-dropping. I watched them in awe even when I happened to be the ‘victim’ myself.

A retired physician, I tend to keep all my documents streamlined, and there is no reason to make an exception for documents related to my vehicle and licence. The taxes have been paid, the licence is valid, and I even have third-party insurance. Besides, the number plate of the car has been converted to the new format, there are no tinted glasses, and I wear my seatbelt as a matter of habit. And, I do not indulge in rash driving simply because I do not know how to. My inability is my virtue. And, yet, I have lost count of the number of times I was stopped on city roads during Ramazan. The enthusiasm of traffic police knew no bounds. The force was running a round-the-clock, across-the-city operation in search of ‘parallel’ revenue.

I asked several policemen why in the first place I had been stopped. What made me a suspect? I was always told that it was a routine snap-checking drive in the city, and I should not object to it. Instead, I should focus on producing the documents for scrutiny, I was told. It so happens that during my active life, I was associated with an institution that takes care of its people even years after retirement. I try not to misuse the institutional ID card, but this Ramazan I have lost count of the number of times I had to present it to the traffic officials; sometimes repeatedly in a day. I just wonder how the lesser mortals coped with the situation. Without the said ID card, I might have landed in some mental asylum halfway through the month.

If the police officials were really interested in their duties, and had nothing to do with parallel sources of income ahead of the religious festival, the department would do well to make public a simple piece of data; the total revenue generated through traffic challans during Ramazan, and how much higher it was compared to the preceding month.

There is every chance that the snap-checking drive would, in fact, have resulted in revenues lower than an ordinary month because the Ramazan revenue was not going to the official kitty.

Dr Talha S.
Karachi

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2025