Stop manual control of traffic clearance as it ultimately leads to jams
LAHORE: Karachi is the commercial hub and also the most unfortunate city of Pakistan. It can generate resources for Surrey Palace and trillions of US dollars for Swiss bank deposits; boast killings of innocent people and burn hundreds in Baldia Town for bhatta; operate torture cells and indulge in targeted killings — all for money. Today it has changed the manifestation of its torture activities. Most Karachiites don’t have potable water and live with heaps of garbage, face power outages and traffic jams for hours. All that one hears are lies by the PPP and MQM spokesmen, blaming each other. The end sufferer is the poor man.
Strict accountability of present and former rulers, declaring the guilty ineligible for any political or administrative office can help curb the situation. Solutions are simple only if the rulers wish to practise them to lessen the sufferings of the underprivileged. For instance, Karachi is a port city, where desalination plants can be established to produce abundant potable water. Tanker mafia should be discouraged, as they are behind this malady and are getting support from quarters indulging in city crimes.
Garbage removal can be assigned to the private sector asking for separate bids for different localities. Tanker owners can be persuaded to divert their vocation towards garbage removal. Traffic jams can be reduced by strictly enforcing age-old regulations that include ‘keep to the left’, particularly for motorcyclists, small cargo vans, trucks and buses. Enforce sanctity of the zebra crossing. Traffic lights can be recalibrated to provide greater clearance duration to accommodate traffic volumes. Stop manual control of traffic clearance as it ultimately leads to jams. Commuters can be asked to stick a printed commitment of agreement to follow traffic rules on their cars. Lastly, surveys should be conducted to determine where underpasses or flyovers are needed.
Hadi Iqbal Hussain
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2017.
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