Govt should fulfill its promise for plying CNG 4000 buses in Karachi: NFEH
Karachi( ) Increase in road trauma and accident and resultantly the enhancing fatality rate in the city of Karachi calls for measures to streamline the traffic flow and prevent citizens' casualties. The decision to outsource the CNG Bus operations by the defunct CDGK administration was a manifest of complete ineligibility and poor management that has tormented the citizens and deprived them of a means of respectable travelling facility. The fleet of 75 dedicated CNG buses has been ruined, which was once a source of ease and comfort to the urban commuters. The bureaucracy and non-elected administration of the defunct CDGK have ruined the transport system in the city.
National Forum for Environment Health (NFEH) President Naeem Qureshi stated this while talking to a delegation of representatives of different NGOs and group of students that called on him at his office Friday.
The defunct CDG has a fleet of 75 dedicated CNG buses of which 35 have been parked at mechanical garages meaning they are out of service. This has curtailed 5 trips in a day and 1500 passengers have lost their travelling sources, he said adding that neither the defunct CDGK administration could successfully run the buses neither it was able to earn from the private operators to who the entire fleet was outsourced. Gross loss is the end result of all experiments.
Government had frequently announced to ply 4,000 buses in the city but it is still a dream to come true, he lamented. The government has to fulfill its promise to ply 4000 buses for the convenience to the citizens, he demanded.
He said federal govt had allocated 4.5 billions & CDGK also allocated 500 millions for 8000 CNG buses in 2006 but this project in doldrums due to bureaucratic hurdles & neglignce he added
On the issue of traffic management through traffic signaling system, Qureshi said that the signalisation and cross sections opening into the main avenues of city, placement of thousands of takeaway stalls and encroachment of footpath are not traffic police concerns but are directly linked to the traffic management system of city. Placing traffic personnel for vehicle-to-vehicle would also be not able to improve the system but the corruption would be increased. The ambulances and school vans get stuck amid traffic gridlock due to unscientific installation of traffic signals every half a kilometer,
The traffic management system could not be streamlined unless it is placed under one authority. Different authorities are managing the traffic signal system in city and there are 177 traffic signals in city of which 116 are managed by CDGK TCD. The DHA has 54, Civil Aviation Authority has 3, Karachi Port Trust has 1 and SITE Association of industry has 1 traffic signal in control, he informed.
There are at least 300 sites in city where traffic signals are absolutely missing. Machine Tool Factory, Shamama arcade on main University road, Abul Hassan Esphahani Road, Liaquatabad No. 10, Karimabad, Petrol Pump Nazimabad and few venues in Gadap town urgently need traffic signals, he added.
He briefed the delegation on the statistics as he said that there are only 3000 traffic police in Karachi, which population has crossed 20 million. The traffic volume in terms of number of vehicles is as: Mini Buses 14966, Buses 6400, Mini Trucks 10025, Trucks 12504, Van/Pickups 82014, Taxi 45760, Rickshaw 43583, Lifter 2293, Tractor 2972, Oil Tanker 2276, Small Van 336, Private Vehicles 813281, Motorcycles/Scooters 7713315, Ambulance 1198, Coffin Carrier 68, Disable Person Vehicle 108, Charitable trust Vehicles 124, School Buses 239, Church Vans 38 (Total 1,809,500) (as on 31.12.2007).
He said due to non-availability of public transport system every day. 300 private vehicles register daily in Karachi which is a huge burden on the road & parking places . NFEH has urged govt. should provide a best public transport system in Karachi. NFEH also demanded strict action on violators of traffic rules encroachments in all area
"The Supreme Court of Pakistan should take Suo Motto notice of the negligence a gross level in the defunct CDGK and the transport departments of the province", he appealed.
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