By Moin Ullah Shah
KARACHI: Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi chaired a meeting at his office to address issues faced by goods transporters and to finalize measures aimed at reducing traffic accidents and improving enforcement of traffic laws in the city.
Participants reviewed a range of issues, including parking problems faced by goods transporters, the issuance of heavy transport vehicle licences and registration for insurance. Key decisions were taken to address traffic congestion, prevent road accidents and ensure effective enforcement of traffic laws.
The meeting decided that dedicated lanes would be allocated for heavy vehicles from Mai Kolachi to the Qayyumabad Bridge. It was agreed that these heavy transport vehicle lanes would have a maximum speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour, and that heavy traffic would be required to remain strictly within the designated lanes once lane marking was completed.
Officials said lane marking work for the dedicated HTV lanes would begin immediately to ensure early implementation of the decision. Once the markings were in place, heavy vehicles would only be permitted to use the designated lanes at the prescribed speed.
The meeting was attended by additional inspector general of police Karachi Azad Khan, secretary transport Asad Zamin, DIG traffic Pir Muhammad Shah, additional commissioner I Ghulam Mehdi Shah, deputy commissioner Keamari Raja Tariq Chandio, officials from the Provincial Transport Authority, the Regional Transport Authority and the excise department, along with representatives of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance, United Goods Transport Alliance and the Karachi Goods Carrier Association.
The commissioner directed traffic police to take effective measures to prevent accidents and to strictly enforce traffic laws. He said no laxity would be tolerated in ensuring compliance. The meeting also conducted a detailed review of parking issues faced by goods transporters and decided that all possible efforts would be made to resolve these problems.
Coordinated measures were approved to address parking shortages, and a proposed plan for establishing a dedicated goods transport terminal was reviewed. Officials said the terminal project was currently under consideration as a long-term solution for transporter parking.
The meeting further discussed proposals related to vehicle fitness and insurance for vehicles and bus passengers. It was decided that the government would be approached to move forward with the implementation of these measures.
