‘Announced’ repair work clogs roads

Press release from commissioner’s office informed commuters hours before work began

KARACHI: Saturday night became a nightmare for citizens as thousands of cars were stuck in long queues in an unrelenting traffic pile near Drigh Road.

The commuters complained to be uninformed about the repair work on the railway track near Natha Khan Bridge.



A press release from the commissioner's office, released Saturday night, stated that the road from Airport to Sharae Faisal will be closed for repair work of the railway track from 11pm to 11am. However, the road was only partially opened even until 4pm on Sunday.

Commuters were asked to use the alternate Korangi Industrial area route. However, the press release proved to be futile as commuters claimed to be unaware of the repair work.

Nabil Tahir, a resident of Shah Faisal Colony, told The Express Tribune that he was coming from Nazimabad and was stuck in traffic near Karsaz for over an hour.



Samin Salman's night was also marred by the severe snarl up. The commuter from Nazimabad said she was stuck for hours along with her family. "There was bumper to bumper traffic. Our car did not move an inch for almost one hour," she said, adding that had they been informed earlier about the construction work, they would have taken an alternate route.

Next week's preparations

The news about the construction work has been in the news for the last six to seven days, said commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui when contacted. According to Siddiqui, the road was again going to be closed on Sunday from 11pm to 6am for carpeting. The other track, from Sharae Faisal to Airport, will be repaired the coming Saturday night, he informed.

Security risk

The road had become a security hazard as the railway track had gone in depression, explained Siddiqui.



"Traffic jams and severe road accidents were reported daily due to the railway track," he said, adding that it had become necessary to repair the track and bring it to the level of the road.

Pakistan Railways, traffic police and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation are working together to repair the track, he said.

It was not easy to manage the traffic, said traffic police East SP Syed Qamar Abbas Rizvi. However, the track was quiet problematic, he claimed. Once it is repaired, the traffic will flow easily over it, he added. The railway crossing that was being repaired by the Pakistan Railways falls under the vicinity of the army's Central Ordinance Depot, said Pakistan Railways divisional superintendent Nisar Ahmed Memon.

"Here, only the trains with military consignment are allowed to enter," he claimed. Pakistan Railways is working under the level crossing, whose cost the organisation will bear, said Memon. However, the cost of the carpeting of the road outside the gate will not be borne by Pakistan Railways, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2016.