Court order to help reduce traffic congestion in Kotri

Barriers on road crossing Bolhari Railway Station to be removed

HYDERABAD: A Sindh High Court order is set to significantly reduce traffic woes for the residents of Kotri in Jamshoro district, subject to its implementation. Thousands of people who travel between Kotri and Jamshoro towns daily on the five-kilometre stretch of the Indus Highway will now be able to save their precious time after the barriers on a link road will be removed as per the court orders.

Residents living in several localities along the stretch, as well as government staff working in the District and Sessions Court and offices of the deputy commissioner, revenue and other departments, will also benefit from this order. A bench, comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Muhammad Iqbal Mehar, gave three days on Thursday to the district administration of Jamshoro and the police to implement the order.



"In case of failure, they [deputy commissioner and SSP] shall appear in person [on the next hearing on November 30] with an explanation," the order read.

The court ordered the removal of barriers from a link road, more than nine kilometres (km) away from the Indus Highway stretch that passes through the Bolhari Railway Station area. Until the order, the movement of heavy transport vehicles (HTVs) on the link road was blocked for many years.

This left Kotri with only the Indus Highway section, where the busy railway crossing connecting Karachi to the upcountry is just another nuisance, to link it with Jamshoro, Hyderabad Bypass and the Super Highway. The situation resulted in a persistent traffic congestion problem.

"[The] inhabitants of Kotri are facing great hardship and this is routine that traffic is blocked and persons plying their vehicles on the road, as well as residents of adjoining areas, are suffering from nuisance," the order observed.

After construction of the M-9 Motorway between Karachi and Hyderabad began last year, this portion of the highway was further burdened with HTV traffic, in addition to the already existing HTV traffic from the Kotri SITE area.

In order to avoid travelling on the bumpy Super Highway, which is being converted into the motorway, many HTVs after crossing Hyderabad take a turn through this stretch to reach the National Highway. From there, they journey towards Karachi through the outskirts of Kotri followed by Thatta district.

With removal of the barriers all the HTV traffic can be diverted to the link road through Bolhari, reducing the traffic flow from the other road.

In the same petition, filed by Kotri resident Advocate Gahi Khan Jatoi, the SHC had ordered on November 11 the dismantling of all the 31 illegal water hydrants, which were stealing water from the KB Feeder Canal. The canal carries water from Indus River to Karachi.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2016.