The Sindh government decided on Thursday to launch a large-scale crackdown to remove encroachments from major roads in Karachi.

According to an official handout, the decision came during a meeting chaired by Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon.

“According to the decision of the Sindh government, in the first phase, an operation will be carried out on a priority basis on major roads of the city, including University Road, as well as various routes of the People’s Bus Service,” the statement said.

“It was decided that the police, city administration and transport department would jointly take action against encroachments,” it added.

According to the statement, the concerned departments were directed to take “immediate measures” to remove established encroachments along the bus service routes as well as illegal encroachments that blocked traffic flow.

It was also decided that measures would be taken to shift illegal bus terminals established in various parts of the city, including Sohrab Goth, to outside the city.

The senior minister said that encroachments on the roads and bus routes caused “serious difficulties for citizens and passengers”.

“Illegal occupations and obstructions on roads affect the smooth flow of traffic, increase fuel expenses and also create difficulties in the movement of public transport,” Memon was quoted as saying.

“To provide better travel facilities to citizens, it is necessary to make major roads and bus routes free from encroachments,” he said.

He directed the concerned departments to take action against illegal encroachments under a joint strategy, and to launch an operation against illegal bus terminals “so that traffic pressure on the city’s roads could be reduced and citizens could be provided with ease in their daily commute”.

According to the statement, the meeting also discussed establishing modern bus terminals outside Karachi under a public-private partnership and the project for the expansion of the Karachi Bus Terminal.

Memon directed the concerned officials to accelerate efforts for the establishment of a logistics park, saying that “all relevant departments should work together to improve traffic flow in the city and organise the transport system”, the statement concluded.

University Road, a main thoroughfare in the metropolitan city, faces severe traffic congestion due to the construction of the Bus Rapid Transit Red Line project, which was launched in March 2022 and estimated to complete within 30 months after its ground-breaking.

In September, Memon said that the difficulties faced by the commuters on University Road were “almost over”. Earlier in August, the minister had promised that the government would make University Road “100 per cent motorable” by Sept 15.