Karachi: motorcycles banned in 24 UCs for eight hours

KARACHI: The Sindh government has banned motorcycle riding for eight hours in 24 union councils of Karachi on Sunday (today) for the safety of the vaccinators participating in an anti-polio drive in these areas during these hours.

The anti-polio campaign is the first one to be carried out in the city following the gun attack on a vaccination team in Qayyumabad on January 21 in which three polio workers, two of them female, were killed.

The provincial government announced on Saturday that the ban would remain in place from 8am to 4pm.

The 24 UCs include UC No 4, 5 and 8 of Gadap Town; UC No 10, 11, 12 and 13 of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town; UC No 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Baldia Town; UC No 1, 2 and 13 of Orangi Town; UC No 7, 8 and 9 of SITE Town; UC No 2, 3 and 4 of Bin Qasim Town; UC No 1 and 2 of Landhi Town; UC No 9 of Saddar Town and UC No 8 of Gulberg Town.

Sharfuddin Memon, the provincial adviser on home affairs, said in the second phase of the anti-polio drive, children would be vaccinated in 25 other union councils of the city on February 25 and 26.

The provincial government often bans pillion riding in Karachi over security concerns but this is for the first time that motorcycle riding has been banned altogether in selected areas of the city.


The acting provincial police chief has ordered strict security steps for polio vaccinators, especially in the areas where the threat level was high, APP adds.



According to a handout issued, acting IGP Iqbal Mehmood directed that the security measures should be taken at the police station level under the supervision of district police officers.



He ordered all DIGs to coordinate with the representatives of the health department and NGOs to ensure better security and increase patrolling and snap-checking in the areas where the vaccination drive would be conducted.