CPLC Citizens-Police Liaison Committee
A meeting between DIG Traffic Mr. Ameer Sheikh and Chief CPLC Sindh Mr. Zubair Habib was held today at CPLC Sindh Governor House which was also attended by Office bearers and members of CPLC Sindh.
Mr. Ameer Sheikh DIG Traffic emphasized the need to join hands together with CPLC Sindh and briefed the CPLC team about the problems faced by Traffic department in maintaining the smooth traffic flow and the ways to tackle the overall situation. Mr. Sheikh informed the participants that Karachi is a city of more than 23.7 Million population and the vehicles plying on the road is 3.79 Million, Vehicles registered are approx. 900 vehicles per day but the strength of Karachi Traffic police is just around 3,200 which is extremely insufficient to manage such a huge flow of vehicular traffic. On a comparative basis, the Average number of vehicles per Traffic police official is 1,031 in Karachi, 677 in Lahore, 853 in Mumbai and 1,386 in London. This clearly indicates the severe shortage of traffic police to have proper flow specially during peak hours.
The absence of Mass transit, Parking plazas being used for other purposes, Vehicles parked on ‘No parking zones’ specially in congested areas, encroachments by hawkers etc. on main roads resulting in further narrowing the road width, sewerage water flowing on roads, poor road maintenance and inadequate enforcement of laws further aggravate the traffic flow situation which needs to be looked into. A proper chalked out plan is required to improve the overall situation and to provide breather to Karachiites in the form of proper traffic system in place. Karachi Traffic police just have 4 lifters and 24 towing away vehicles to stop the menace of parking vehicles under No parking/tow away zones. The whole Karachi city has a total of 164 traffic signals out of which only 116 are operational. The number of traffic signals need to be increased by at least 100 % in the shortest possible time with better maintenance. It was also discussed that closing time of offices need to be staggered to avoid traffic congestion during peak hours.
The participants were informed that more than 1,200 innocent people loose their lives and more than 26,000 receive injuries every year due to improper enforcement of laws. Out of these 60% are those riding on motorbikes (2 wheeler’s). The highest number of fatal injuries are due to absence of helmet by motorcyclists.
CPLC team emphasized the need of having a centralized vehicle database along with enforcement of laws in true spirit. It was emphasized that a joint effort needs to be made to educate masses about traffic rules right from school and to sensitize masses so that traffic rules and safety measures are followed in full. This would not only save numerous priceless lives but would also exhibit the aptitude of this nation by displaying proper traffic flow with complete observance of rules.
