Fruit vendor activity obstructs traffic

For vendors desperately hoping to sell their leftover stock of fruit from the day, the vicinity of busy highways, roads and bridges is a prudent yet illegal option for setting up a cart however, the profit maximizing gimmick used by businessmen has now become an amplified nuisance for regular commuters stuck in incessantly choked avenues. With Karachi continuing to attract a large population of migrant workers for commercial purposes, vendors selling fresh produce including vegetables and fruits at every nook and corner of the city is a pretty common sight. However, in recent times, the worsening state of the economy has led to a burgeoning in the number of fruit vendors, who have now expanded their business activity and are continuing trade after sunset alongside bustling road junctions, leading to incessant gridlocks, which block the flow of traffic for hours. “Fruit vendors come in the middle of the roads and highways during the evening and night hours. Due to such encroachments, traffic jams on these highways and other places have become a persistent problem, causing commuters to cover their minute’s long journey in several hours,” said Saud Shahid, an employee at a private company. Similarly, Asif Abbasi, also a regular commuter, revealed that apart from the fruit vendors blocking the road, the frequent stopping of cars for purchasing the fruits was also a major cause of the roadblocks. “Due to such regular obstructions, patients being shifted to hospitals in ambulances suffer the most,” regretted Abbasi, who reported observing endless queues of cars stuck in gridlocks. “I was recently stuck in the worst traffic jam near Nagan Chowrangi,” seconded Talat, a homemaker, who was on her way to a wedding in North Karachi before she encountered a traffic jam caused by fruit vendors blocking the road. “Unfortunately, there were no Traffic Police officials to control the traffic and deal with the encroachers,” bemoaned Talat. Concurring with the other commuters, Mohammad Faisal, another commuter, highlighted the fact that several main highways, roads and bridges of the city, including Nagan Chowrangi, Sadar, Teen Hati, Liaquatabad, Korangi Crossing, Landhi, Highway Pakistan, Power House Chowrangi and Sabzi Mandi, had been transformed into fruit markets after sunset. “Fruit sellers are currently ruling the city's highway,” added Faisal, who urged the government to take notice of the matter. According to the Deputy Inspector General of Traffic, Ahmed Nawaz, removing encroachments on the roads is the duty of the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC). “However, we still try our best to clear the roads whenever we can,” conveyed Nawaz. “Our department takes regular action against encroachments on the roads and highways, especially fruit vendors. It has been reported that fruit vendors carry their business activities on major highways during the night hours, causing an inconvenience to the commuters. We will remove such encroachments in collaboration with the Traffic Police, Police and district administration,” assured Imran Rajput, Senior Director at the Karachi Municipal Corporations (KMC’s) Anti-encroachment Department Speaking to The Express Tribune on the matter, the Caretaker Provincial Minister for the Local Government, Mubeen Jumani said, “Our vision is to serve the people. Steps have been taken towards resolving the problems plaguing locals in Karachi. We will offer our full support to the concerned authorities to expedite the removal of encroachments.” Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2024.