As Karachi hosts South Africa for a cricket series after 14 years with its first test match to kick off January 26, Karachi traffic faces the brunt of major thoroughfares being blocked due to heightened security on Sharea Faisal and Stadium road while development works on Jahangir Road. 

While one major thoroughfare of Karachi, Sharea Faisal, remained blockaded intermittently due to security for international athletes as the moved to and fro on each day as the training sessions were held in the National Stadium, another one, M A Jinnah road remained hampered as well with development works underway on Jahangir Road.

The true purpose of these two major arteries of Karachi is that they connect the City’s South and West districts with East, Central, Malir, and Korangi districts. But when there’s no coordination amongst the concerned bodies overseeing management of the city, the traffic crisis where masses suffer, is meant to eventuate.

The link and connecting roads are then bottlenecked as well due to the influx of untamed traffic specially around the two rush hour periods: 8-11 am and 4-7 pm for obvious reasons.

The ongoing development work on Jahangir Road, joined by Teen Hatti (Trinity) Bridge built over Lyari Naddi stream, has meant the traffic flowing towards Guru Mandir is redirected to Jail Chowrangi through there one is expected to take Jamshed Road detour.

It is one of the three major thoroughfares of Karachi which originates straight from Karachi-Hyderabad Motorway, due to which the flux of hindered traffic spilling over to adjoining roads has only caused one thing in this region, Mayhem.

In the wee hours of the day when match is scheduled, people will have Sharea Faisal temporarily barricaded with fool proof security, Stadium road and all the link roads leading to it, blocked throughout the day, and we will have adjacent roads suffering with spillover traffic, spammed with busses, private and public transport, and trucks all the same.

On the other hand, we have no detour via Jahangir Road.

One thoroughfare that still remains is that of Nazimabad which via Golimar, leads to Patel Para and Guru Mandir. The chocking of this one is a routine in a regular day and with the situation where it will be taken up as detour by traffic meant for other thoroughfares, one can only imagine the outcome.