Commuters suffer traffic jams on University Road

Fish, sajji stalls occuppy parking space, service lane

KARACHI:

The path to wisdom and knowledge is never easy, however, the road to University of Karachi has become a nightmare due to potholes and overflowing gutter near Hassan Square.

One of Karachi's busiest roads University Road is suffering from the worst traffic jams owing to the dilapidated state of the thoroughfare near the Civic Centre which houses the office of Karachi Development Authority (KDA).

The journey of few seconds stretches to minutes with suspensions and shock absorbers of vehicles crying mercy as these are not built for off-road muddy terrain rallies.

Besides the broken road encroachment add to pain and misery of the citizens. Meanwhile, on the other side of the intersection, near Hassan Square, encroachment have made it impossible even to walk.

Frequent traffic jams have become commonplace. Hassan Square, a busting locality named after one of the earliest apartment blocks in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Area in 1970s, is full of encroachment which have occupied the parking area, service road and the footpath.

Civic authorities have failed to remove the encroachment despite the orders of the Sindh High Court (SHC). Fish sellers have squatted along the service roads and sidewalk due to which there is constant traffic jam during evening rush hour.

Besides fresh, stalls of fired and marinated fish have popped up too. Moreover, the area is home to one of the tastiest haunts of salted chicken and mutton roast known as sajji.

The foodies flock to the area in evening and park their vehicles on the main road, because the parking are service roads are encroached, causing a traffic jam. These encroachment have been continuously pointed out but the local government departments are not ready to put an end to this menace.

Sources said that the antiencroachment departments of the East District Municipal Corporation and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation have set up these encroachments in exchange for the alleged bribe and the traffic police are also said to be involved in this racket due to which the worst traffic jams have become a routine at Hassan Square.

However, neither the local government nor the police are taking steps to curb encroachments and improve the traffic flow. There are also complaints of worst traffic jams on the road leading from Hassan Square to the National Stadium but instead of improving the flow of traffic, six to seven traffic police personnel remain busy in other activities.

Sources said that the flow of traffic is being severely affected due to the negligence of the traffic police. Citizens have demanded of the government of Sindh to remove encroachments from University Road and take immediate action against the traffic police personnel and departments responsible.

Fish sellers have squatted along the service roads and sidewalk due to which there is constant traffic jam during evening rush hour