One-way muddle

KARACHI: In the past few weeks, at least two attempts have been made to make a couple of one-way major thoroughfares in Defence Housing Authority.

Khayaban-e-Shamsher and Khayaban-e-Mujahid in Phase Five were made one-way for the second time. The second time no prior announcement of any kind from either the traffic police or the DHA was made. Had this been done, a lot of inconvenience to people would have been avoided. I use both these roads quite regularly and found that in the evening the one-way had all but disappeared with motorists and motorcyclists going in whichever direction they wished. Can we not do these things with some more order? Also, if the plan is to work, a lot more traffic police will have to be deployed.

The problem is that our civic agencies and related government departments are in bad shape, and lack any semblance of good management, vision and concern for the general public. The last factor is especially ironic since most of these organisations deal with the general public as part of their work. Also, many, like the traffic police, are financed directly by taxpayers money.

Umer Asif

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2012.