KARACHI, July 18: Almost every thoroughfare, especially busy intersections, have turned into a jungle of huge hoardings and neon signboards, creating traffic hazard and posing a serious threat to the lives of commuters and pedestrians.

The threat has become imminent these days in the face of monsoon rains in the city because past experience shows such roadside signboards are often knocked down by strong winds or heavy rains, causing widespread damage, sometime loss of life also.

There are certain rules and regulations to be complied with while installing such hoardings and signboards alongside roads and streets. However, the mess along footpaths, bridges and traffic islands created by advertisers clearly shows that no such rules are followed.

It may be observed everywhere that signboards are installed or hanged in a manner that their half, or even greater portion, annexes a wide area meant for footpath or road around.

This usual practice causes hazards equally to commuters and pedestrians. The pedestrians are made to suffer more due to the thick pillars, holding the hoardings, which narrow down the width of footpath and hinder their movement.

For commuters, the hanging signboards blocking a considerable portion of a road, or its track, next to the signboard appears dangerous. Drivers, especially of a bus, mini-bus, fire tender, truck or such other big vehicles have to take extra care while passing through the thoroughfares. A minor mistake or slight oversight may cause damage to the vehicle or harm to its occupants.

Although the city government's local taxes department, under a new CDGK policy, auctions specific sites for signboards, one may see that innumerable small and medium-sized unauthorized hoardings have sprung up all around and underneath the approved ones.

It is a general impression among citizens that the unscrupulous advertisers dare to indulge in such practices only in connivance with certain officials of the local taxes department.

In addition to the risk of being knocked down by winds or rains, the hoardings block drivers' and pedestrians' vision in many cases. While drivers fail to see an moving person or vehicle from behind the signboards, pedestrians often cannot see an approaching vehicle. This sometime results in an accident.

According to traffic experts, the permission to install signboards and neon signboards in the proximity of traffic intersections is in violation of rules and regulations because such attractive things often divert drivers' attention from road.

In an incident during the previous monsoon rains, a woman had lost her life in North Nazimabad after being crushed under the debris of a signboard which was pulled down by strong winds coupled with heavy rain.

Residents of the area, recalling the incident, said that despite her death, the concerned officials had taken no measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents. In another such incident a signboard near the National Stadium, Pir Sibghatullah Shah Road, fell down recently, causing considerable damage to the vehicles parked outside the nearby restaurant.

Fortunately, no one was injured. Terming the CDGK's new policy on signboards auctioning a 'mere eye-wash', sources in the city government point out that at least half the signboards along the main thoroughfares in the city are unauthorized. The revenues collected from the advertisers are being pocketed by unscrupulous officials.

They suggested that a survey of signboards through town nazims be ordered by the city nazim to ascertain the exact number of the authorized and unauthorized signboards and the actual loss being caused to the CDGK under this head.