‘Use space technology to make Karachi’s streets safer’

Speakers at space science, technology conference present ideas on utilising new technology

KARACHI: Sixty-five per cent of schools in Karachi are located along roads with fast-moving traffic and this leaves their students vulnerable to accidents.



This was revealed in a research paper by Salman Zubair, an assistant professor at Karachi University (KU) geography department at the fourth National Conference on Space Science and Technology organised by the Institute of Space and Planetary Astrophysics (ISPA) on Saturday.

Zubair suggested that authorities should incorporate road safety measures and geographic information system techniques when making decisions regarding the location of schools to reduce the risk of accidents and loss of valuable lives.



Zubair also said that the traffic police together with school administrations should organise awareness programmes for students on how to use zebra crossings. He also proposed the construction of speed-breakers in the areas surrounding schools to break the flow of speeding vehicles.

Transport Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said that Pakistan and China are developing a satellite to monitor the routes of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Shah added that space technology has brought about massive changes in various fields and is contributing in many sectors such as defence, communication and even medicine.



He said that the transport and traffic departments should use technology to further improve their performance in giving better transport and traffic systems to the public.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2016.