Recently I used the Lyari Expressway for getting home and found it to be a completely neglected facility. I saw people jaywalking and crossing the expressway right from the starting point on Mauripur Road till at least the Garden interchange.
Young boys going to self-designated play areas along the Liyari River below the expressway were running blindly on either side of the road. Likewise, people in groups of three to four were also seen walking on either side of the road. A patrol car of the National Highways and Motorway Police, quite ignorant of this unchecked dangerous pedestrian movement, was also seen standing on the ‘alert’ without doing anything about the whole activity.
It was stationed right after the toll-collecting booths, and was seen busy stopping and checking most commercial loading vehicles. That was the only activity the patrol care was alert about.
There were no police patrol cars for surveillance on the unlit expressway. The toll-collecting booths were without any protective arrangement to facilitate the staff to survive the vagaries of weather. It was a disappointing experience.
The authorities concerned should take notice of this neglect and take appropriate measures for the prevention of fatal road accidents to make the Lyari Expressway a safe and rapid route for users.
SHAHID AHMAD KHAN
KARACHI
