Public suffering: Road, train traffic comes to a standstill

KARACHI: A large number of people suffered as members of the Shia community took to the streets on Monday. Inter- and intra-city traffic travelling to and from Malir 15 came to a standstill as the protesters blocked traffic to and from Quaidabad.

The Malir 15 Road connects the city to National Highway via Quaidabad, which leads to other parts of the country, especially lower Sindh.

More than five ambulances were seen stranded in the traffic jam. Ambulance driver Naseer Ahmed told The Express Tribune that he was transporting a heart patient to his house but after getting stuck in this traffic jam, he decided to take the patient back to the hospital.

Meanwhile, trains operation of Pakistan Railways remained completely halted for hours. The trains coming from Punjab and other cities were not able to reach the city. Likewise, the trains going from Karachi to other cities of the country were also delayed. There were almost 10 different trains whose operations were affected, said the divisional communication officer of the Pakistan Railways, Nasir Nazir. He added that train operations were restored at around 6pm.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2016.