President of SITE Association of Industry (SAI), Suleman Chawla has urged the federal and provincial governments to pay special attention to the issues of Karachi, particularly the rising street crimes which must be tackled immediately in order to ensure relief to Karachiites. He also urged the law enforcement agencies to devise an effective and result-oriented strategy to completely thwart rising street crimes, which continue to haunt the citizens.
Expressing deep concerns over last night incidents at SITE industrial area, where an open fire at car of industrialist by 3 boys on motorcycle, he also demanded of the Inspector General of Sindh Police to issue strict directives to DIG West, SSP SITE, DSPs and SHOs of the SITE strictly curb rising street crimes within a specific timeframe in their respective jurisdictions. Any failure to deal with street crimes within the pre-notified timeframe should result in immediate suspension of concerned officers and deployment of more responsible and honest officers which was the only way to yield positive results, he proposed.
He said "Substantial improvements have been witnessed in dealing with target killers, kidnappers, extortionists and terrorists after the commencement of Karachi Operation. But, the street crimes, including snatching cash, mobiles, motorcycles, cars and other valuables, continue to worsen in every nook of the city generally and SITE industrial area particularly".
Chawla said that street crimes triggered a persistent element of fear while commuting around, which also restricts business growth as consumers tend to minimize their shopping amid fear of being robbed on the streets and the businesses particularly retailers have to bear the additional burden of security costs. He said it is the responsibility of the government and the law-enforcement agencies to take some concrete steps to root out this crime. The police should patrol areas on a regular basis. The government, on the other hand, can increase the punishment of such crimes and ensure more security on deserted roads.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019