Better to be safe: DHA blocks Commercial, Saba avenues for traffic till tonight

Residents of the area are being asked to move their cars away from the imambargahs.

KARACHI:

If you are a resident of DHA, it would be best to avoid Saba Avenue in Phase V and Commercial Avenue in Phase IV today if you don’t want to get stuck in traffic.

Since the start of Muharram, the part of the roads leading up to the imambargahs have been blocked for traffic. Since there will be a bigger majlis tonight (Muharram 10), expect the barricades to go further down the roads.

For Imambargah Baqyatullah, which is located on main Saba Avenue, the barricades have been put up on Khayaban-e-Sehr and Khayaban-e-Shahbaz. No traffic is allowed to pass through during the time that a majlis is taking place. For Imambargah Yasrab in Phase IV, Commercial Avenue and the link roads leading up to it have been blocked for traffic.

There is a large deployment of police, Rangers, scout members and volunteers at the entry points set up outside the imambargahs. These security personnel pat down everyone who passed through - even the residents of nearby houses.



Trying to ensure foolproof security, a volunteer on Commercial Avenue made the resident of a nearby house park his black Honda Civic nearly three streets away. He then checked his bag, which carried his laptop, before letting him proceed towards his house. Although he appeared distraught, the man refused to give comments to The Express Tribune.

“We have closed the road to avoid any untoward incidents and will keep them closed during majlis times until Muharram 10,”explained sub-inspector Abdul Raheem, who was managing the security arrangements at Saba Avenue. “We have closed Saba Avenue and diverted the traffic to 30th Street.”

Raheem said they allow residents to pass through after checking their cars. The police and the volunteers at the imambargahs let the drivers know of alternate routes when traffic is diverted, he added.

“Khayaban-e-Sehr is opened for traffic after the majlis but Saba Avenue will remain closed until Muharram 10,” said a scout volunteer, as he looked inside car bonnets. “We are not troubling anybody. We are doing this for their security and it is only for a couple of days.”

Since traffic flow during Ashura is already thin, the increased security barricades should not cause a massive gridlock, the volunteer hoped.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2013.