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KARACHI - The ever-worsening traffic congestion in the city necessitates the need for recruitment of 5,000 additional traffic cops to ease mess on roads which has given rise to accidents and violation of traffic laws.
A formal request has been sent to the Sindh Home Department through the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for provision of budget to recruit traffic cops through the Sindh Police. DIG Traffic Khurram Gulzar while talking to The Nation on Saturday confirmed that he had sent a formal request to the Sindh government for budgetary arrangements to recruit additional cops in the Traffic Police.
The Traffic Police runs under the Sindh Police and therefore cannot make separate recruitments to enforce traffic laws and ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic plying on the metropolis roads. In its interim order on Karachi law and order situation case issued on Saturday, the Supreme Court also termed the traffic mess a serious issue in the city and directed the traffic police officials to submit details of vehicles examined by the department and action, if any, taken against the unfit vehicles on monthly basis.
DIG Traffic Khurram Gulzar told this scribe that he apprised the Supreme Court, in his statement, of the alarming traffic congestion and consequent chaos in the city. He said that he also expressed the reason of inability in the court that he had only 3200 traffic police personnel for the mega city who worked in two shifts.
The DIG traffic declared that it was almost impossible to control and manage traffic with only 1600 traffic cops at one time in a city like Karachi having more than 20 million population. How such a small number of traffic cops can regulate the traffic flow of 2.7 million vehicles consisted of 1.1 million four wheel private vehicles, 1.3 million two wheelers, and 15000 public transport wagons and buses, most of which were outdated on a daily basis, he argued.
He pointed out that of the existing force of traffic cops, usually 10pc staff remained on leaves, 10pc on training, while about 10pc worked in the administration wing of the Traffic Department, further aggravating the situation. The DIG traffic police also conceded lack of adequate training of the traffic police and attributed it to the absence of separate traffic department. The regular police reserves some portion of manpower for the traffic police, who after getting month-long training from Traffic Training Institute Karachi and field experience of a one week, start discharging duties in traffic police, he disclosed. About fitness of vehicles, the traffic police chief conceded that public transport plying on city roads was in worst condition because the Motor Vehicle Fitness Wing had not taken effective measures to ensure standard fitness required by the law.
In his statement before the Supreme Court during hearing of Karachi unrest case, Acting DIG Traffic Management Ahmed Jamal Rehman also seconded the views of the DIG traffic regarding fitness of public transport, particularly, buses and wagons being used for the purpose were in worst condition. Therefore, they carry high safety risk for the passengers, he added. He also assured the court to meet this challenge he would ensure, with the help of the government, that further staff was deployed in his department to ensure fitness examination of at least 3,000 public transport vehicles on monthly basis.
This process will help the department take further action to address the problem, he explained.
City in need of 5,000 more cops to ease traffic snarls | The Nation
A formal request has been sent to the Sindh Home Department through the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for provision of budget to recruit traffic cops through the Sindh Police. DIG Traffic Khurram Gulzar while talking to The Nation on Saturday confirmed that he had sent a formal request to the Sindh government for budgetary arrangements to recruit additional cops in the Traffic Police.
The Traffic Police runs under the Sindh Police and therefore cannot make separate recruitments to enforce traffic laws and ensure smooth flow of vehicular traffic plying on the metropolis roads. In its interim order on Karachi law and order situation case issued on Saturday, the Supreme Court also termed the traffic mess a serious issue in the city and directed the traffic police officials to submit details of vehicles examined by the department and action, if any, taken against the unfit vehicles on monthly basis.
DIG Traffic Khurram Gulzar told this scribe that he apprised the Supreme Court, in his statement, of the alarming traffic congestion and consequent chaos in the city. He said that he also expressed the reason of inability in the court that he had only 3200 traffic police personnel for the mega city who worked in two shifts.
The DIG traffic declared that it was almost impossible to control and manage traffic with only 1600 traffic cops at one time in a city like Karachi having more than 20 million population. How such a small number of traffic cops can regulate the traffic flow of 2.7 million vehicles consisted of 1.1 million four wheel private vehicles, 1.3 million two wheelers, and 15000 public transport wagons and buses, most of which were outdated on a daily basis, he argued.
He pointed out that of the existing force of traffic cops, usually 10pc staff remained on leaves, 10pc on training, while about 10pc worked in the administration wing of the Traffic Department, further aggravating the situation. The DIG traffic police also conceded lack of adequate training of the traffic police and attributed it to the absence of separate traffic department. The regular police reserves some portion of manpower for the traffic police, who after getting month-long training from Traffic Training Institute Karachi and field experience of a one week, start discharging duties in traffic police, he disclosed. About fitness of vehicles, the traffic police chief conceded that public transport plying on city roads was in worst condition because the Motor Vehicle Fitness Wing had not taken effective measures to ensure standard fitness required by the law.
In his statement before the Supreme Court during hearing of Karachi unrest case, Acting DIG Traffic Management Ahmed Jamal Rehman also seconded the views of the DIG traffic regarding fitness of public transport, particularly, buses and wagons being used for the purpose were in worst condition. Therefore, they carry high safety risk for the passengers, he added. He also assured the court to meet this challenge he would ensure, with the help of the government, that further staff was deployed in his department to ensure fitness examination of at least 3,000 public transport vehicles on monthly basis.
This process will help the department take further action to address the problem, he explained.
City in need of 5,000 more cops to ease traffic snarls | The Nation
