Traffic jam, roadside parking hit trade activities

With advent of Ramazan, the traffic chaos on different roads grew largely to hamper trade and business activities at markets as traders seek the government's help to remove roadside vehicles parking facilities to ease the public movements. "If the roadside vehicle parking facilities further increased in the absence of traffic police personnel, the Eid shopping season for traders would become unviable since inside or linking roads to markets are already chocked for public movements," they said.
The traffic system in the city is almost 'dysfunctional' as willy-nilly vehicles movements on main roads brought about hours long congestions that continue to hit the business activities badly especially in the holy month, they said.
"The traffic disorder in the first 10 days of Ramazan shows the traffic police have no role in managing the vehicular flow," said chairman All Karachi Tajir Ittehad, Muhammad Atiq Mir on Thursday, adding that "40 per cent sales plunged since the traffic is chaotic in the city".
He said the government should plan to end the traffic temporary chaos that hit often the roads bringing civic and commercial life to a standstill for hours and warned that the lack of any strategy would cause a wheel-jam like situation to the city. He proposed the government to build parking plazas to end the growing roadside parking in the city to ease the traffic and pedestrian movements. "It is a serious issue and the government should make permanent arrangements to help the city have a smooth flow of vehicles traffic," Atiq Mir said.
He was of the view the growing landing of around 800 vehicles a day is a real cause behind the traffic disorder in the absence of traffic police inaction to manage the vehicle flow. "There is 3.2 million vehicles on the city's roads which only 3340 traffic police personnel are assigned to manage their flow," he said.
Showing concerns, the chairman AKTI said the traffic jams and disorder cause million of rupees oil fuel loss to the public on a monthly basis. He urged the government to cleanse the footpaths from illegal hawkers and end the unauthorised roadside vehicle's parking to ease the traffic flow and help grow business activities," he added.