KARACHI: Sudden closure of major roads in the metropolis, done by police in order to stop the activists of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) from reaching the Karachi Press Club on Monday, triggered a massive traffic jam in the city centre.

The abrupt closures of one road after another caused severe disruptions to traffic flow during the latter half of the day. By 4pm, the South district and downtown areas of the city were in chaos. Hundreds of vehicles were lined up in long queues along key routes such as I.I. Chundrigar Road, Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Aiwan-i-Sadar Road, Club Road, and other arteries nearby.

Traffic officials said that after 3pm, when most of the offices on I.I. Chundrigar Road and surrounding commercial areas closed early due to Ramazan, the roads experienced a sudden surge in traffic which led to thousands of vehicles becoming trapped in a jam. With no alternate routes available, the traffic jam spread to other roads, including MR Kayani Road, Sarwar Shaheed Road, Abdullah Haroon Road, Napier Road, Hasrat Mohani Road, Burns Road, Shahrah-i-Liaquat, and Saddar.

Asif Inam, a banker who works at I.I. Chundrigar Road, expressed frustration over the situation. He said that it took him nearly an hour to travel just two kilometres from Shaheen Complex to the Karachi Press Club Roundabout on his motorbike.

People suffer for hours as almost all key arteries in district South experience severe traffic congestion

Traffic DIG Pir Mohammed Shah said that the traffic congestion occurred at 3:45pm when protests near the KPC led to the closure of three major roads: Aiwan Sadar Road, MD Wafai Road, and Sarwar Shaheed Road. He added that the timing of the disruptions, during peak hours and on the first day of the workweek, made the situation worse.

“The traffic mess occurred because three key arteries were closed by the police in preparation for the BYC rally,” the DIG stated.

It adversely affected the flow of traffic on I.I. Chundrigar Road and other adjoining areas. He said though the roads were opened at 6:15pm, the situation turned normal at around 7pm. The DIG Traffic said he and all SSPs and DSPs of traffic broke their fast on roads as they were also stuck in the traffic jams while attempting to clear the roads.

Apart from protest, DIG-South Syed Asad Raza cited another reason behind the traffic mess. He said the Sindh governor had organised “swings and rides” outside the Governor House for children to break their fast but did not inform the district and traffic police. When traffic was choked on Aiwan-i-Sadar Road, it affected the flow of traffic on other roads.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2025