A bad idea?: Karachi in a jam as IDEAS takes off

Residents left miserable and irritated as they deal with diversions near the Expo centre

KARACHI: The city's residents had a miserable day on the roads as they spent hours in gridlocks caused by the security arrangements for the 8th biennial International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (Ideas), which was inaugurated on Monday by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The containers placed on the routes around Karachi Expo Centre and the diverted traffic caused utter chaos despite promises made by senior traffic department officials about having a concrete 'traffic management plan.' "Considering the difficulties Karachiites could face, we have chalked out a comprehensive plan," Traffic Central SSP Jahangir Mughal had claimed at a media briefing ahead of the event on Saturday. "We have deputed 1,100 policemen working in three shifts to manage traffic and ensure smooth movement of dignitaries to the venue."

Monday's gridlocks, however, exposed the shortcomings of the traffic police, with street-level constables proving incapable of handling the mess on their own.

To tighten security for the Ideas 2014 attendees, traffic coming from New Town had been directed towards Stadium Road and Dalmia, while vehicles from Essa Nagri and Sir Shah Suleman Road were diverted to service roads leading towards Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Nipa.

Residents making their way to work, school and university found themselves stuck in massive traffic jams in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Malir and beyond. "I had an exam at 9am but because of the traffic jams and the diversions, I reached the exam hall an hour late," complained Masooma Shah, a student of Karachi University.



"The organisers should have planned better alternative routes so we could avoid these hours of inconvenience," said Akram Khan, adding that it took him more than two hours to get to his shop on University Road.  His words were echoed by irritated people lined up to wait at bus stops. "If there were more traffic police to regulate traffic, it would be easier for commuters to reach their destinations," added student Mudassir Ajmal. "Holding Ideas in the city is a bad idea," said Raza Ali, another annoyed commuter. "The main roads are jam-packed with vehicles diverted from blocked streets, making life difficult for the common man not just for a single day but for four consecutive days."

Not only was routine traffic disturbed but the disorder also made it difficult for children to reach school. "Our van driver dropped us back home after getting caught in traffic for two hours near Jail Chowrangi," said Laraib Saleem, a class eight student.

Yet traffic police officials denied that there were gridlocks. "There was no traffic jam in the city today; the flow of traffic was just slow due to so many vehicles being diverted from the blocked roads to alternative routes," SSP Mughal told The Express Tribune. "Whenever any of the major roads are obstructed, the traffic suffers in the entire city." He explained that the situation had been worst in the peak hours, saying that Sharae Faisal had been blocked from the airport to Karsaz and then from Metropole to Karsaz in the early hours of the day to accommodate VIP movement. "Today's traffic will demonstrate the need for people to take other routes for the next three days while Ideas is going on," he added.

Meanwhile, traffic DIG Amir Shaikh said that Sharae Faisal was blocked only for five minutes in the morning, while University Road was blocked between New Town and Nipa from 10am to 1pm. "We cannot block Sharae Faisal, since it is the connecting road for multiple routes," he claimed.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2014.