KARACHI. Protests on Shahra-e-Faisal and Press Club along with water clogging in Gulshan-e-Iqbal after a pipeline burst in the area blocked Karachi’s major arteries resulting in severe traffic jams on Saturday evening.
The main water pipeline, which passes through the Aziz Bhatti Park near Federal University burst, flooding the University Road with up to two feet of water and later caused a massive traffic jam in Gulshan and Gulistan-e-Jauhar areas.
Various roads and areas including Lasbela, KDA, Karsaz, Hassan Square, University Road, Shara-e-Faisal, Johar Morr, Star Gate, Stadium Road, Tariq Road, Guru Mandir were blocked due to the congested traffic, which continued for several hours.
The officials reported that the water supply was shut down from Dhabeji pumping station. The pipeline will have to be repaired, they added.
Sit-in on Shahra-e-Faisal against ‘encounter’
Relatives of a suspect, killed in an alleged encounter on Friday in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, staged a sit-in on main Shara-e-Faisal near Drigh Road.
The protest, that included several women, resulted in worst traffic jam on the main artery for several hours, prompting authorities to remove SHO Shara-e-Faisal and order an inquiry into the encounter to pacify the protesters.
Ultimately, they ended their protest following assurances from officials, Karachi-East Zone DIG Munir Ahmed Shaikh said.
The senior officer said that legal action would also be taken against protesters who blocked the main road, which caused immense sufferings to the commuters for over four hours.
The officer said that the killed suspect, Safeer alias Safeeri, allegedly had a criminal record, however, the relatives’ claim that he was already in police custody and was shot dead in a ‘fake’ encounter.
DIG East said the heirs’ claims would be investigated.
Meanwhile, other parts of Karachi also saw traffic jams owing to protests by sugarcane cultivators against the powerful sugar mill mafia of Sindh.
The officer said that the killed suspect, Safeer alias Safeeri, had alleged criminal record, however, the relatives claimed that he was already in custody of the police and was shot dead in ‘fake’ encounter.
The DIG East said the heirs’ claims would be investigated.
Meanwhile, other parts of Karachi also saw traffic jams owing to protests by sugar cane cultivators against the powerful sugar mill mafia of Sindh.
The sugarcane cultivators who had gathered at Karachi Press Club to draw the attention of the media towards their plight, later attempted to move towards Sindh CM House to register their protest.
The attempt was, however, thwarted by the police that not only resorted to baton charging but also used water cannons to disperse the protesters.
The police intervention led to absolute chaos and massive traffic jams on Abdullah Haroon Road and other thoroughfares in the vicinity.
Karachi has no proper road management system, which causes trouble for commuters in emergency situations. Traffic police, additionally, is unable to inform the public about alternate routes in a timely manner.