KARACHI, Jan 1: Despite repeated public outcry, frequent traffic violations are witnessed in Lea Market and its link-roads. The situation gets worst during peak hours of morning and evening when the upcountry transporters park their vehicles in the middle of the roads in complete violation of rules.

Pedestrians, commuters and motorists have to face a lot of problems while walking or driving between Lea Market and Denso Hall to go to their workplaces in the morning.

The market is surrounded by other markets-timber market, Juna Market, Kajoor Bazar and Kori Garden, which are the hub of trade and commercial activity in the old area of Saddar Town.

A survey shows that the haphazard way of parking of vehicles on these market routes is a permanent source of disturbance in the normal flow of traffic. Because of severe traffic congestions on this route, it usually takes almost an hour to reach the Denso Hall, which is hardly a 10-minute drive form Lea Market.

A number of meetings were held in the past to regulate the traffic on this route, but the situation could not be improved either due to lack of coordination of concerned government agencies or police's failure to control the transporters, who park their vehicles without fearing any authority.

Authorities admit that the situation is deplorable but instead of taking the responsibility they always shift the blame to other departments. The survey shows that presently most of the vehicles are being routed through Lea Market or Sheedi Village road for onward upcountry journey, which causes serious traffic jams in the downtown, specially during peaks hours.

Thus, a lot of time and energy of the commuters, particularly those who are going to work, get wasted. The commuters, in view of the time constraints, are compelled to travel in overcrowded buses, mini buses and coaches, posing serious hazards.

Adding to the public woes are roadside venders, who have occupied the entire footpaths in the market area, creating problems for pedestrians. The situation has deteriorated recently with increase in the number of vehicles and their wrong parking, particularly at Gadap bus stop in the evening.

As the number of buses is rapidly increasing, the space for parking is shrinking fast. All the open spaces, previously used for parking, have now buildings on them, leaving bus-operators with no other choice but to park the vehicles on roadside.

Local buses and mini-buses, terminating their journey here, plying from Landhi, Malir, Quaidabad, Gadap and Korangi, are parked on the roadsides, which is one of the main reasons of traffic congestion in the area.

The buses for inter-city routes also arrive here, mainly from the interior of Sindh, i.e, Thatta, Sujawal, Banu, Sewan etc. There is only a small open plot available for parking these buses.

Buses also arrive from or leave for various cities of Balochistan and the NWFP, including Hub, Lasbela, Khuzdar, Turbat, Quetta, Gwadur and Peshawar.During the past decade, the number of these buses has increased manifold, as a large number of workers come here for travelling to Hub and Bela.

These buses are parked at Sheedi Village and Chawkiwara roads, and now are gradually encroaching upon the old tonga stand. Besides, a number of local buses, mini-buses make their intermediate stops here or pass through the market, making it one of the most congested areas in the city.