KARACHI, April 25: Sindh Adviser for Home Wasim Akhtar on Wednesday inaugurated the first National Road Safety Conference, being held during the WHO-sponsored Global Road Safety Week.
Wasim Akhtar said the fact that this week was dedicated to young road users had particular relevance to our country where the majority of the population was in the younger age group.
The government, he said, appreciated that road traffic injuries were a major health problem and an unfortunate by-product of economic and social development.
“As the pace of our development increases, the magnitude of this problem can be expected to rise in the years ahead,” he said, adding that it was our duty to plan strategy to protect the vulnerable road users from this scourge.
He described this first National Road Safety Conference as an excellent initiative, and congratulated the Road Injury Research and Prevention Centre of the JPMC and the Sindh Education Foundation for putting this event together.
Mr Akhtar said the government of Sindh appreciated Indus Motors for their corporate social responsibility demonstrated in support pf road safety activities.
He urged the stakeholders to continue their excellent work in this sector and said they could expect complete cooperation from the relevant government departments.
The adviser said he had noted the strong recommendations for introducing mandatory helmet use by motorcycle riders and would be taking up this issue with the traffic police for early implementation of this life-saving measure.
He asked the organisers to submit their other recommendations stemming from this conference for consideration by the Sindh government. He said the government and public interest groups must collaborate in the interest of the road-using public.
Anita Ghulam Ali, Dr Rashed Vohra, Asad Jehangir and others also spoken on the occasion.
PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES: Karachi has over two dozen of pedestrian bridges and more are planned for the future. However, the majority of citizens do not use this facility for being in hurry, and for certain other reasons, including their improper location and dilapidated condition.
The Transport and Communication Department of City District Government of Karachi has also noted that old and ailing persons, including women, do not use the bridges.
“Some bridges are designed too steep, making it difficult for people to use them,” the CDGK officials said.
District Officer (RSE) Saeed Akhtar Rizvi told the PPI that the government had done its level best, but society had no culture to avail of such a facility. “We force them to use pedestrian bridges by fencing the middle lane, but that is of no use.” The DO, however, admitted that some bridges were situated at improper places.
