De-congesting Traffic in Karachi
All major cities in the world face traffic problems but the problems of the city of Karachi are unique, mostly they stem from extremely bad town planning. Except for Islamabad where some order is apparent there is a visibly disorganised pattern in all the cities of Pakistan of hasty growth and bad planning, hopelessly misconceived to suit vested interests.
Zoning laws are regularly broken, building rules are seldom adhered to, planned parking spaces prorata to the rate of construction is unknown, the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) in the middle 70s excelled in this. While no one really desires geometric designs to mar the landscape, the abstract mosaic that is in vogue has created horrendous socio-economic problems. If we do not take necessary measures we are going to be faced with urban disasters of the greatest magnitude, a total breakdown of law and order, compounding the near anarchical situation availing even today. Our urban children will have no future.
Given good faith and purpose, planned objectives are achievable, the rule of the jungle has still not overwhelmed the rule of law. Though the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) are hard pressed — and at times demoralised because of lack of adequate personnel and equipment — they are still effective to an extent. Nowhere is this more actually felt in Pakistan than in Karachi, being the only port city serving 100 million people the stakes are enormous, remedial measures have to be taken down the line in a number of areas. For the purposes of this article we are going to confine ourselves to discussing the traffic congestion of Karachi and the means to ease the situation.
One of the major problems which have exacerbated the traffic situation has been the location of the port, the industrial and residential areas. The port is so positioned that all the country’s imports and exports, whether from Karachi or up-country have to pass through the whole of the city thus tying up all commercial and private traffic into a confusing and constant puzzle. The city’s fathers never imagined the growth likely to overtake Karachi and as such they never planned for the mess likely to overcome this city.
Needless to say planned growth is possible if there is strict adherence to the laws of the land, that is the first principle to be kept. Witness the transformation of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Karachi, from a well-planned residential area into a rapidly developing ghetto within two decades from 1958 upto 1987. Since early 1988, however, there has been a complete turnaround and the DHA which had become chock-a-block with any number of commercial establishments in its residential enclaves has seen them being uprooted by strict adherence to the DHA laws, upheld in all cases by our courts. Despite the screams of those affected (and some tenants were certainly duped by unscrupulous landlords), DHA has been re-transformed into primarily a residential area again. There is no reason why the same cannot be true for KDA and KMC if they can establish a sincere will and effect their will honestly. Like for the DHA, there will likely be some public outcry but these will become muted as the “great silent majority” interested in the long-term welfare of their families supports the change for betterment. Wide roads, public parks, new schools and colleges, libraries, sports complexes, a lighted sea front, etc., have transformed DHA back to its original concept. This is hardly totally possible at the present time in our metropolitan cities due to arcane laws and the fact the administration usually collaborates in wrongdoing or simply condones it. This is a sure recipe for the breakdown of social infrastructure and we are seeing it happening in real life in Karachi. Karachi’s problem stems from a recurring breakdown of public utilities, one of the major flashpoints being transportation.
The Bushra Zaidi incident in Karachi when a group of school girls were run over by a Mini-bus causing fatality to Bushra Zaidi sparked off an orgy of killing that in sheer devastation defies adequate description and recurs in gory detail from time to time. Besides ethnic overtones it brought to the surface many glaring omissions of city administration, the pent-up public rage has now become a periodic catharsis, targeted mostly on the transportation system, burning buses is a favourite mass pastime. Public transportation in Karachi comprises (1) an inadequate circular railway (2) publicly and privately owned buses (3) privately owned mini-buses (4) taxis and (5) auto-rickshaws. For a city of 9 million people, the transportation effort is woefully inadequate. From time to time, we hear about proposals for a subway or a mono-rail system, the city’s planners have yet to make up their minds to implement a particular selection.
The first thing to note is that the city of Karachi has no fast Expressways acting as a release to the over-load. There is no way that you can get cross the city during any hour (let alone the rush-hour) without spending long periods in traffic congestion. With the Karachi Port occupying most of the south-west corner, this really means that all sea-borne goods meant for up-country have to pass through the city of Karachi by road or rail transportation. Given the cost-effectiveness of road transportation in time comparisons to the railways (and the availability of railway wagons thereof), necessary road surface utilisation is much more. In the first instance, therefore, we have to ensure that this major traffic hindrance is somehow overcome.
From the port to up-country there is no way one can avoid going through the city of Karachi. It was possible on the western side if our major airbase, Masroor, was not located there, which is now not possible or feasible. On the eastern side, one has to pass through the city, major commercial areas then the main residential areas and even after clearing these one gets caught up in the traffic of Korangi and Landhi. Through the heart of the city it is impossible to direct traffic because that would mean clogging up the only access to the Karachi Airport.
The only suggestion that is feasible and worthwhile is to have a raised expressway over the main railway line with properly planned entries and exits at various places. This expressway would necessary start at the port and continue up-country with exits to both the National and Super Highways from beyond the Karachi Airport and Malir Cantonment. This is not a new concept, most major urban cities of the world which cannot have subway system or rail-lines, or motorways resort to raised expressways. With imaginative planning, these raised expressways can also funnel in traffic from other parts of the city, criss-crossing the urban area in such a way that it functions as an outlet for traffic jams.
Necessarily this is going to cost money. The expressway need not be raised all the way, at times wherever land is available, it can be positioned on both sides of the railway lines. In an imaginative manner one could create at certain selected places overhead residential flats and shopping malls which could be sold/rented off on commercial basis to partly pay for the construction. At the same time a suitable Octroi Tax can be imposed. To give an example, in Bangkok they charge approximately US$ 1.00 for cars and US$ 5.00 for buses/trucks and so on for the use of the expressways. Even if 10,000 trucks/buses were coming to/leaving Karachi daily, the revenue daily would be in the Rs 1.00 million range or about Rs 350 million yearly for trucks/buses going/coming from up-country alone. Many of the affluent within the city would also prefer using the expressways to avoid the traffic jams downtown. One estimates a total revenue in excess of Rs 500 million.
Based on the Octroi Tax alone the project is easily feasible. Given generous tax incentives and secure guarantees one does not doubt that the private sector would invest in such a project. Given the need to ameliorate the state of affairs it is quite conceivable that the business community may form consortiums to take on the project.
With trucks/buses operating to and from up-country to the Port/warehouses area remaining away from the city’s roads, the traffic congestion will certainly ease.
The design and construction of such a project is best left to experienced engineers. Railways may feel aggrieved at the use of their land but this can be sorted out between the Ministries of Railways, Communications and the Government of Sindh besides KMC representing the city of Karachi.
Maybe even the proposed light rail/mono-rail project can be dovetailed with this project. We must act now, if the situation is bad now, it will be horrendous every year hence.
Critics may have a field day taking a turkey shoot on such futuristic ideas, if they have a better idea short of shifting Karachi Port, let them state them. If not, let’s go ahead with such environmentally sound projects without further delay.
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