The movement of the so-called VVIPs on our roads in their long motor cavalcade is a big curse for the common man:police invariably block the roads for hours on the roads on which they travel thus causing traffic jams in which those patients who need urgent medical attention and are on their way to hospitals often get stuck up and many of them lose their lives also because they cannot reach emergency wards in time. One such incident occurred last week in Karachi when a 10 month old baby who was being taken to an hospital for emergency treatment by her father was caught up in traffic jam created due to stoppage of traffic for a quick flow of motor cavalcade of Bilawal Bhutto. The baby died in the way as she could not reach hospital in time. The Chief minister Sind immediately announced that the father of the deceased girl would be given government employment as if his appointment on a government job is going to bring back to the world his lost child! Small wonder Imran Khan very rightly directed his party government not to block general traffic on the roads during the course of visit to the KPK of the VVIPs
It has also been noticed that traffic nuisance is caused also when the political parties take out processions or hold public meetings on busy government roads thus causing a lot of inconvenience to the shopkeepers whose business is adversely affected on account of it. Time was when the politicians used to address their public meetings after evening prayers at fixed points causing minimum obstruction in the daily chores of the common man. Can’t they revive that old practice long forgotten by them?
Time has certainly come when the politicians should start making maximum use of electronic media for reaching out at the people. They can buy air time and apprise the electorate of their political manifesto through radio and TV channels. This would cost them much less than the money they had to now spend on rallies and public meetings and also enable them to convey their programme to the maximum number of people as there is radio transistor and idiot box in the house of every Tom, Dick and Harry. Besides, it would save a lot of taxpayers’ money also which is at the moment spent by every government on the law and order enforcing agencies on their deployment at the venues of their political activity to ensure peace during the course of their processions and public rallies.