Province-wide celebrations: 30,000 cops on security duty today

Residents of Sindh mark Eid Miladun Nabi by taking out 1,028 processions

KARACHI/HYDERABAD/SUKKUR: Almost 30,000 cops have been deployed for the security of 1,028 processions in Sindh, as the province marks Eid Miladun Nabi today.

On Saturday, a meeting was held at Chief Minister House, where officials were told that around 400 small and big processions are being taken out in Karachi. Meanwhile, arrangements have also been made to provide security to 361 processions in Hyderabad, 34 in Mirpurkhas, 22 in Sukkur and 94 in Larkana.

During the meeting, the provincial home secretary said they have also written to the army to keep its personnel on standby to deal with any untoward incidents. CM Murad Ali Shah had directed the Karachi commissioner to speak with the concerned authorities and power utility companies to avoid load-shedding on Eid Miladun Nabi. The traffic DIGs in Karachi and Hyderabad were also directed to ensure smooth traffic flow in their areas.

Traffic plan

The main processions today are being taken out from MA Jinnah Road. As soon as the procession proceeds from Shaheed Masjid Kharadar and Memon Masjid at around 2:30pm today, all vehicular traffic coming from Lea Market, Aga Khan Jamat Khana, Kharadar,  Crane Chowrangi, G Allana Road and Mai Kolachi will not be barred from proceeding towards MA Jinnah Road and diverted towards an alternate road.

All vehicular traffic coming from Keamari via Jinnah Bridge will not be allowed to proceed towards Merewether Tower and will instead be diverted via alternate roads from Jinnah Bridge. All roads falling on both sides of these routes will be closed for vehicular traffic and sealed.

All traffic will be diverted via alternate roads from Merewether Tower to Numaish and then on to Nishtar Park. All traffic coming from University Road via MA Jinnah Road will not be allowed beyond Jail flyover; this traffic will be diverted from Jail flyover or Kashmir Road.

All traffic coming from University Road will be diverted towards Ayesha Aziz Roundabout to Sharae Quaideen or Corridor III to Saddar. All traffic approaching Guru Mandir from Peoples Chowrangi will not be allowed to proceed towards MA Jinnah Road and will be diverted from Banori Town Light Signal towards Central Jail.

Traffic approaching Guru Mandir from Lasbela via Business Recorder Road will not be allowed to proceed towards MA Jinnah Road and will be diverted towards Jahangir Road, Jamshed Road, Binori Town traffic light towards Central Jail.  All lanes of the Bahadur Yar Jung Road from Guru Mandir till Mansfield Street will be closed.

As soon as the procession of Maulana Akbar Dars begins from Memon Masjid and moves towards Aram Bagh Masjid, all traffic coming from Empress Market will be diverted towards Zaibunnisa Street and from Sharae Liaquat to Aram Bagh traffic ight towards Dr Ziauddin Road. No vehicles will be allowed to park from Court Road towards MR Kiyani Chowk, Tibet Chowk to Regal Chowk and Regal Chowk to Aram Bagh Masjid.

Hyderabad

The Hyderabad police have deployed 2,500 personnel to perform security duty in the city. Police spokesperson Mazhar Shani said that the police will be assisted by an unspecified number of the Rangers personnel and some 500 volunteers. The district has been divided in 11 sectors with devolved control of security measures.

Five special rescue units of police commandos have also been stationed at the Haider Chowk, Heerabad, Latifabad and Gurunagar Chowk areas and one at the SSP office. Police commandos and snipers have also been deployed at 45 buildings in different localities, he added.

The police are also monitoring the city with the help of close circuit television cameras. Hyderabad's historic City taluka will remain a centre of activities, while dozens of rallies are going to be brought out from Latifabad and Qasimabad talukas.

Sukkur

Like other cities and towns in upper Sindh, strict security measures have been adopted for Eid Miladun Nabi in Sukkur. To provide foolproof security to the mahafil-e-naat venues and rallies, around 1,600 policemen have been deployed throughout the district, said Sukkur SSP Amjad Ahmed Shaikh. In all, 22 big and small rallies were taken out, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2016.