KARACHI, Aug 22: Drivers of heavy vehicles continue to violate the timings during which their movement on city roads is strictly banned. Thousands of heavy vehicles, including the long vehicles mostly carrying 40-feet containers, pass through the city every day. However, the traffic police, in their nine-day campaign, have seized only 116 vehicles for violating the timings. About half of the heavily loaded trucks and trailers emerge on the roads from the seaport while the remaining ones enter the city from other points on their way to some upcountry destinations through the exit route of Sohrab Goth.

The city government had recently imposed a ban for 90 days on the movement of heavy vehicles and dumpers during peak hours. The notification states that movement of dumpers on city roads is banned from 7am to 10am and from 5pm to 8pm. Similarly, movement of goods carriers is banned from 7am to 9am and 6pm to 8pm.

The traffic police had launched the campaign on August 8 to check such violations. According to the traffic police press release, 116 drivers were arrested and their vehicles impounded during the campaign which ended on August 16. It, however, did not mention that how many errant drivers had been fined for resorting to irresponsible driving.

DIG Traffic Capt (r) Falak Khurshid directed the SSPs of all four zones to take stern action against violators the ban and ensure effective enforcement of the ban.

However, countless heavy vehicles can be seen playing on various city roads in violation of the ban, causing traffic jams during peak hours. The worst traffic jams occur routinely at Water Pump, Federal B Area, and the Sohrab Goth intersection where clogging runs into hours.

Traffic police officials do try to clear the roads but irresponsible drivers of trucks and trailers often nullify their efforts. In most cases, the drivers would defy police order to keep their vehicles in the right lane and not to block road by using the lanes meant for cars, motorcycles and other small vehicles.