KARACHI: Loading vehicles and water tankers will no longer be allowed on the city's Shahrah-e-Faisal road, a senior traffic police official said on Thursday.
Rickshaws will be allowed to operate for one month on Karachi's main artery Shahrah-e-Faisal, said DIG Traffic Ameer Shaikh.
Speaking to our correspondent, DIG Ameer Shiekh said Shahrah-e-Faisal is a fast moving track but due to rickshaws, loading vehicles and water tankers, traffic was moving slow on it.
Sheikh said the traffic police monitored the situation for about two months and then decided to ban the entry of all three on the city's main thoroughfare.
He said the new rules were being brought in force from Monday (September 19) onwards.
According to the senior traffic police official, rickshaw drivers do not follow traffic rules and regulations "and because of this, people of Karachi face traffic jams on Shahrah-e-Faisal".
He added that the traffic police was also making bus and motorcycle-lanes so it would enable smooth traffic on it. "Bus-stop boards and other signboards will also hang at different places of this track in a few days," he said.
DIG Ameer Sheikh said from Sept 26 a new rule would be implemented on Shahrah-e-Faisal banning three people from riding on one motorcycle as it causes accidents.
Earlier this month, a new traffic plan was implemented for Shahrah-e-Faisal with 132 traffic policemen deployed to manage traffic on the road. The special force is referred to as Shahrah-e-Faisal Force.
These policemen are to have vehicles, 44 motorcycles and 8 lifters, the DIG Traffic had said. The policemen would work in two shifts and those disrupting traffic would be charged under anti-terrorism laws.
The decision to ban rickshaws immediately was taken back over complaints by the public.
The Shahrah-e-Faisal Force also carries special badges and caps.