One fine day you are passing by Karachi traffic as usual. However, something catches your eyes and you gape in astonishment to find out more.
(more…)

I didn’t have my camera with me but even if I did, they freaked me out so I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to snap a photograph, but have you guys seen the HUGE van that the “Speed Controllers” drive around? They are supposedly checking to see if people are breaking the speed limit by hiding in some dark, dingy alleyway. The funny thing was, the location where I saw them “hiding” was so they could view the road immediately after a speed breaker, so I doubt they found ANY cars breaking the speed barrier, but then maybe they’re also after the pedestrians… (more…)

Just caught this sign being erected today at the Mohd Ali Society signal, in an attempt to relieve the traffic congestion on Shahrai Faisal at Awami Markaz the traffic police will not permit a right turn onto Shahrai-Faisal heading towards Baluch Colony between the hours 8am - 10am & 5pm - 8pm.

This specific picture is off the sign located on Fatima Jinnah road at the MAHS & Sh-Faisal intersection (Awami Markaz), but I also witnessed another similar signboard being welded specfically jsut before this same Awami Markaz signal on main Shahrai Fasial (traffic heading towards saddar) which also read the similar rules, preventing the right turn and a much used U-turn at the same signal.

I personally think this is a good move and will lighten the traffic congestion drastically on the main artery, I have yet to see if the Tipu Sultan signal has been handled in this similar manner as that too is a sore spot for many rush hour traffic commuters. Just a warning out to those who might get caught confused in this sudden new development, don’t say we didn’t warn you, as I dread the first few days we are bound to see a major confusion until people realize the changes

There is a massive traffic jam from Baloch colony to Nursary. Avoid this route if you are traveling on share-e-faisal.
One of KMB author MB is stuck in this traffic jam and updating us. Does any one know the reason of this traffic jam!!?? or is it the usual, a VIP movement?

Lets step aside for a moment and take a look at our city Karachi.

I think of sharing my views with you guys, actually I have just been on a trip to Islamabad and Muree, although I went there primarily for some personal business and not on a vacation to enjoy. I did try take that opportunity and visited the well-known tourist points in Islamabad and Muree. Undoubtedly the places in Muree such as Neelam Point, Bhurband - Pearl Continental, Kashmir Point, the chair lifts and cable cars in Patriata are superbly beautiful. The cleanliness and strict laws of Islamabad and a few worth visiting places are simply awesome. Most importantly the road-trip from Islamabad to Muree is the most enjoyable because of the stunning natural beauty and the curvy dangerous narrow two-way roads cut between the green mountains. Multiple routes connecting Islamabad and Muree are simply unexplainable. Some of you might have been there, but for those who haven’t, let me tell you - I enjoyed the places in the off season, you can imagine what it would be like in the “on” seasons. You have got to be there, take a break from our busy and fast lives and give yourself some good time.

You can see the photos here. I tried to write about the trip while I was there and I did make some posts on my blog, but I lost track in all the traveling and stuff. I was seriously thinking of extending my visit and and spending some more time in Muree, but I had to cut short my tour and get back, my leave was expiring and I didn’t have much cash in hand.

The point in making this post is not to just share my trip details with you, but to actually share what I learned / realized from the trip besides everything. It was a four-day trip from Wednesday till Sunday, on Saturday night I was in the hotel room in Islamabad, I was on the flight to Karachi the next morning.

On Saturday night something came up and I thought I should go out and buy what I need. My hotel was near Aabpara Market (its a busy market). Its 10:30 in the night and what I see amazed me. Every shop was closed, there were just a few people on the street, SATURDAY NIGHT and no cars! I found only a bakery, a medical store and few other shops left open. It was like a day of strike in Karachi! Anyway, I kept walking until I reached the medical store, I just had my dinner so I thought of trying out a meetha pan of Islamabad, and guess what! They don’t have khokas! On the whole road, I walked about 20 minutes, there was no sign of a khoka or any shop from where I could find a pan. May be there was such a shop but got closed as it was “too late”. I don’t mean to portray Islamabad as the “city that always sleeps”, but for me (being a karachitte) it was unusual.

As for the food, the well-known food-street (a.k.a food-court) in Islamabad, for crying out loud! I can’t find a single place where I could get Chicken Biryani. I ate every thing from Pulao to stuff like yellow rice with boiled chicken in the name of my dear Chicken Biryani! The spicy chicken ginger! oh so sweet! and the mini buns by the names zinger burger. I couldn’t find KFC, McDonals, Pizza Huts so common as they are in Karachi, in fact, I never saw one in my whole trip! I realized it when I reached Karachi Airport and saw a big yellow ‘M’ just in front of it along the parking area! :)

All night I was just thinking and comparing the three cities. Besides the natural beauty in Muree and it being an official tourist place, I was just left comparing Islamabad with Karachi.

I came to realize that Islamabad is as good as nothing in terms of Implementation of Law and cleanliness in Pakistan, the underpasses seems to be just a regular natural inclining and declining road due to the mountainous area -unlike Karachi’s underpasses when you bounce off 3 feet in the air while entering one and the drainage cover moves and sounds like its broken into 5 pieces and you just made the 5 pieces 8 with your car, they sometimes also fills up with water too :) .

There is no signal violation, no car on or ahead the zebra crossing on the signal, even the police or government cars being fined for breaking the signal or any road law. There are no coaches or mini buses, “khaan-taiyaara” or “sarko ki malka” -type vehicles on the roads, only 14-seater vans for public transportation. Very few bikes, very very wide roads, proper road signs, minimum chaos on the roads. In short everything is so damn perfect as compared to Karachi and its core and most talked-about problems.

I took my expensive phone with me and I was literally roaming around and showing off :) in the streets in ISB and muree taking pictures and messaging never fearing that a 125 bike will be coming from behind and I’ll be greeted with a shining metal of a gun as a reward to my showoff. Its a lot better in terms of street crimes.

But there is nothing like the life in Karachi! I always thought of myself as a boring person, but I realized that I’m much more fun being in Karachi than anywhere around the country (as far as I have been). You can never have a life that you have in Karachi anywhere else.

Keeping aside the crimes, traffic problems, political uncertainty and every small and major issue, I can bet that once you get a break from Karachi you will realize that we curse the city way too much and how much we are dependent on the life of Karachi. Its not like “aankh aujhal Pahar Aujghal” its like once you get on a “pahar” you will have a much better, clear and true realization of what you have been into and what you have been missing all the way.

I hope that every Karachitte feels and realize what the city Karachi really is and how we are connected to it in every aspect of our lives. Being bloggers, writers readers or any one from Karachi who thinks about Karachi, needs to get a different perspective every once in a while to change our thoughts and views, and probably alter our attitude towards our City.

Its us that is Karachi and its Karachi that is us, a codependent association that needs a little tough outside the box.

The administration of this city is dheet no doubt but people like me are even dheetar than them. Till they understand and implement a proper Public transport system and stop flooding our already-ugly city with more cars we(i) shall keep on highlighting this issue. Now do i need to explain this image?

This image shows the comparative amount of space required to transport the same number of people by car and bus. Its a photo from Muenster Planning Office.

[Credit: Doctor]

Ali Adnan Qazalbash explains why many people take any other route than SF.View Full Image

By the mid of 2005 Shahrah-e-Faisal (Faisal Highway) used to be the fastest way of traveling from southern Karachi to north-east part of city and vice versa i.e. Karachi Airport. Now a days many people avoid using this highway during rush hours of evening as a huge tide of traffic pass through this time of week days.

I drive a car with CNG (as does a majority of the population in Karachi). However, one trend that I have noticed is that CNG pump people tend to round up the amount to the nearest rupee when you pay. Even though it makes a little sense when you are dealing with cash, they do the same thing when using prepaid cards.

There is one specific PSO pump at the foot of Karsaz flyover on Shara-e-Faisal which I pass daily on the way to work. Because it is mostly empty at the time I pass it (around 7:30am), I tend to fill up if I am low on CNG. Further, I have a PSO fuel card (thanks UBL Credit Card!) which I sometimes use to pay. Today, the amount was 168.76, and the guy had charged me 169.00 (on the fuel card). When I asked him why he didn’t charge 168.76, he said something about them not having the correct system to process decimal places. I got out and showed him the decimal point on the keypad of the machine, and then he sheepishly admitted that it is their usual practice to round up. He also said that they round down if the fractional part is less than 50 paisa, but I have never seen this personally except for at a few pumps. Mostly these people just round up.

I know that after I left, they must have been wondering what a cheapskate I am to be complaining about 24 paisas, but my question is this: even though it is just a matter of a few paisas, is it right to do this? What are your thoughts?

They are all too common, so common that I feel pointless mentioning them here and if you observe any main street in the Karachi for even a few seconds you are bound to spot a few on the road, yeah I am talking about bikes without lights, no head lights, no back lights, no indicators, nothing and loaded with women and even children running on our streets at night even in total darkness, almost invisible and camouflaged. They are people with a death wish and I don’t blame them, limited income, inflation and family problems does drive people towards suicide and what better way to die when the suicide can actually be termed as accident, at least people wont call them cowards but what if their plans to end their lives don’t work out the why they thought, what if they end up crippled or seriously injuring one of their family member, or worst a child ? Wouldn’t that add to they miseries ? Will they be able to forgive themselves ?

A few words of advice for them: Try a better way if suicide is what you have on your mind, and decide for your life alone don’t risk the lives of your children and loved ones and if what you have planed for is not suicide you have got to be plain stupid… Do give it a thought.

Note: Special thanks to Raja Islam for pointing to the issue. 

as the number of reconditioned and import cars increase in the city (& country), more and more people are shifting towards automatic transmission cars. earlier, people were mostly reluctant to buy old automatic cars as there were a dearth of mechanics of such gearboxes and also a lack of spare parts.

in today’s traffic conditions, it is becoming more convenient, to the extent of preference, to drive an automatic transmission car rather than a manual one.

we want to know if you prefer a manual transmission or auto?

 Loading …