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KARACHI, Aug 27: The Supreme Court asked the city district government on Monday to take steps for the construction of parking plazas at various places where private and government vehicles could be parked on payment of reasonable charges.
In other orders of the day, a bench holding suo motu proceedings on traffic jams in the city asked provincial transport secretary Rasool Bakhsh Phulpoto to identify appropriate places for stoppage for intra-city buses, mini-buses and coaches as well as for intercity vehicles to ensure maximum safety and convenience to the commuters and the public at large.
Deputy Inspector-General (Traffic) Wajid Ali Khan was told to keep a vigil on the working of traffic police at all vital points and ensure effective operation of traffic signals.
“If you take off your uniform, or ‘chamri’, go round the city, you will find traffic jams everywhere,” Justice Rana Bhagwandas, who constitutes the bench along with Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, told him at one stage.
The bench, which was furnished a copy of the minutes of the meeting of all stakeholders on Aug 25 in compliance with its direction, noted that it appeared that the chief executive officers of the city’s six cantonment boards did not participate in the meeting convened by the chief secretary. Either they were not summoned or they did not receive intimation in time.
The director-general of cantonment boards is directed to ensure the participation of all heads of cantonment boards in the meeting convened or constituted by the chief secretary.
About the restraint on daytime movement of heavy vehicles, the bench said the transportation of perishable items, particularly food, fruit and vegetables and other items of daily use, is not hindered by the interim order or any order subsequently passed.
The bench, however, rejected fish and prawn transporters’ plea for permission to ply their vehicles from Pasni and other places from Lasbella to Karachi on Hub Road. They should bring the seafood at night or use smaller vehicles. The Karachi Port Trust should also adjust its timings for loading and unloading. The relaxation allowed to the carriers of life-saving drugs would continue.
The report on the Aug 25 meeting, presented by Additional Advocate-General Dr Qazi Khalid Ali, stated that police patrolling of the Northern Bypass, which provided a round-the-clock road link for all kinds of vehicles, would be increased substantially to ensure security to upcountry traffic. While an anti-encroachment campaign had been launched by the city district government, a traffic management cell had started functioning in the CDGK. Representatives of trade organisations, transporters, the Karachi Port Trust and the Shehri-Citizens for Better Environment NGO would be associated with the cell. The new panel would meet twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday, to take stock of the traffic problems.
The CDGK, the report said, had prepared urgent, short-term and long-term measures to ease the traffic congestion.
Alternative routes would be developed where possible and the Karachi Mass Transit Plan would be taken up with the federal government on a priority basis.
The circular railway plan would also be broached with the federal authorities. The Karachi Building Control Authority would be asked not to sanction or regularise building plans without sufficient parking space. The space should be commensurate with the size of the building complex and the number of flats and shops in it. Besides parking plazas, transit stations/holding points would be set up on all major highways.
The report annexed a resume of the action taken against smoke-emitting vehicles and cancellation of fitness certificates of vehicles. Over 51,000 vehicles were refused fitness certificates for causing air and noise pollution and for having tampered meters over a period of about three years and a half. It, however, did not elaborate why so many noisy, smoke-emitting vehicles were plying on city roads if adequate measures
