KARACHI, March 10: People faced difficulties on Saturday due to the traffic police’s diversion plan on the occasion of chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA). Though traffic was diverted to alternative routes, police personnel showed least interest in regulating it, which caused sever traffic jams on the main and link roads running through Saddar. The worst of the traffic jams occurred on Nishtar Road, Soldier Bazaar, around the Zoological gardens, at 10am.

Most of the link roads to M.A. Jinnah Road were sealed by placing goods containers and by parking buses, trucks and mini-buses across the roads. Motorists who managed to reach the police head quarters at Garden were stopped in front of the Federal Government Officers’ Residences, which added to the mess. Traffic between the Regal Chowk and Merewether Tower, however, remained normal till 12noon, but the streets remained fully packed.

Crowds of passengers at the inter-city buses terminals, near Saddar, were stranded. Some of them, when asked, said they were in search of buses for Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah and Hyderabad, but due to the processions transport operators had changed their departure timings.

Reports also spoke of snarls-up at Gulbahar, Rizvia Society and Jail Road.—A Reporter