HYDERABAD, June 16: Unregulated flow of traffic and subsequent traffic jams in the city were attributed by the district council members to massive encroachments on roads and inattention of the taluka municipal administrations concerned at the council’s session on Monday.

A joint resolution of Javed Kardar, Ishtiaq Ahmed Ansari and Nasima Khan was on the agenda which was debated threadbare by the members. A unanimity of views was witnessed among members who said that traffic remained largely unregulated while traffic policemen looked the other way. They expressed concern over growing encroachments on the roads which are hampering smooth flow of traffic.

Nasima Khan drew attention of the chair to traffic jams beneath the newly-constructed flyover due to wrong parking of vehicles outside a rent-a-car showroom. She said that there was no car lifting machine in Latifabad which was needed to lift wrongly parked cars.

Kardar and Ansari said that traffic had become a chronic problem for the city but the traffic police remained inattentive to the issue. They called for setting up a traffic police kiosk at Phulelli Bridge to handle unregulated traffic and said that the district government should bring about reforms in traffic management system.

Q. Mohammad Hakim lauded the district nazim for addressing traffic issue seriously and launching flyovers projects on troubled spots of the city. Elaborating, he said bridges were being extended and eight flyovers were under construction, adding that some issues still needed to be addressed but they concerned the TMAs which should ensure that shopkeepers should not encroach upon footpaths by placing their merchandise on them.

He said that the Sindh government should provide substitute for camel and donkey carts as had been done in Bahawalpur. He said that packages should be offered to these cart owners as the carts could be done away with.

Israr Sheikh said that billions of rupees had been spent in the old city and traffic issue basically concerned all the TMAs. He said that some proposals were sent to the TMAs which needed to be implemented. He said that a divider could be created on the new cloth market road and the Station Road should be cleared of encroachments.

Rashid Khan urged the members to offer useful suggestions instead of criticising the TMAs, saying that it would not serve the purpose. He said that around 400,000 to 500,000 vehicles plied on city roads where 150 to 200 traffic policemen were available to regulate traffic.

“A poor police constable is afraid of restraining a Pajero from illegal parking or breaking traffic laws”, he said. He added that policemen needed to be encouraged and motivated by elected representatives so that they could show courage while performing their duties.

Dr Arif Razmi said that flyovers would be helpful in some areas but inner pockets of the city would remain as disturbed in future as they were today because roads were heavily encroached. He said that mere statements were not going to resolve the issue. “Proper diagnosis needs to be made of this disease”, he said.

He said that it was a political statement that people should not be rendered jobless. “We will have to swallow this bitter pill if not now then in future because otherwise we cannot resolve the issue.” Noise pollution and traffic jams were making people easily irritable which was not a good sign, he said.

Babu Ilyas said that traffic regulation fell under the purview of the HDA, the TMAs and traffic police simultaneously therefore their officers should be called (in the council) and a committee should be formed to minutely look into the issue and offer remedial suggestions.

Farhat Khan and Rana Siddiqui said that proposals worked out in the council should be sent to the TMAs. They agreed with other members that often ambulances got stuck up in traffic jams and patients failed to reach hospital on time.

A committee was formed by the council which would be headed by Ghulam Hussain Samoon and have Abbas Khan, Abdullah Shoro, Yamin Soomro, Rashid Khan, Babu Ilyas, Ishtiaq Ansari and Dr Arif Razmi as its members.

The session referred Zahida Memon’s resolution, pertaining to delay in shifting of a girls’ school to Tandojam government girls’ school building where a laboratory had been established, to the education committee. Her resolution was supported by Sajida Baloch and Rashid Khan who said that co-education should be introduced in such schools where two shifts were being run.