Eid shoppers caught in traffic jams

As the Ramazan draws to end, there is a tremendous rush of people visiting markets and bazaars for Eid shopping, causing traffic jams on the roads and intersections throughout the night.

The encroachment and the mushroom growth of Eid stalls causes traffic nightmare leaving people stuck in long queue.

As per the tradition of Hyderabad, people break their fast and then head to markets and bazaars for Eid preparations. The roads and streets of Sindh's second largest urban centre cannot handle the sudden bulge of commuters.

The city authorities have never thought of making arrangements for adequate parking in business centers, leading to buyers and shopkeepers parking their cars in the middle of the roads. This situation is causing traffic congestion in various areas of the city.

The worst traffic jams are occurring at intersections. However, even in streets and neighborhoods are flocked with long queues of vehicles, causing incidents of bitter arguments between the citizens. The city already has a shortage of traffic signals to manage the flow of traffic, and traffic police officers are also spending time sitting under the shade of trees instead of restoring the flow of traffic on important roads and intersections.

The Hyderabad traffic police have deputed additional personnel of traffic officials at Kohe Noor Chowk, the busiest business center of the city, to end the series of encroachments and illegal parking. However, the encroachment and illegal parking continue at Telak Chari, Sureghat Chowk, Shahi Bazaar and New Cloth Market, resulting in worsening traffic congestion in these areas.

Traffic police officers or officials are nowhere to be seen in Latifabad Cloth Market, where the situation has become critical due to the increase in rush at night at the fast food shops located under Siddique Plaza. Similarly, in Auto Bhan Road Latifabad, citizens are facing severe transportation difficulties due to the traffic jam even on the busiest road caused by the parking lot built on the footpath.

The areas hit most by traffic jams include New Cloth Market, Hyder Chowk, Saddar, Cantt, Pakistan Chowk, Gari Khata, Station Road, New Bridge, Shah Makki Road, Old Sabzi Mandi Chowk, General Bus Stand, Tower Market, Hirabad, Anaj Mandi, Talak Chari, Shahrah Fatima Jinnah Road, and Tulsidas Road.

However, the traffic congestion is also witnessed at Domino Road, Lajpat Road, Faujdari Road, Electronics Market, Kohe Noor Chowk, Kadamgah Moola Ali Road, Pakka Qila Chowk, Phalili and Pretabad, Tando Yousuf Phatak, Latifabad, Auto Bhan Road, Guddu Chowk, Old Wahdat Colony, Naseem Nagar Chowk, Gulistan Sajjad, and other points including Pakora Stop.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2023.