Shahrah-e-Faisal explained

Shahrah-e-Faisal
Alternate Name:Drigh Road
Direction A:East
Terminus A:Hotel Metropole
Direction B:West
Terminus B:Stargate
Location:Karachi, Pakistan
Length Km:18
Former Names:Drigh Road

Shahrah-e-Faisal, founded as Drigh Road, is a boulevard in Karachi that runs 18km (11miles), from the Bhutto Underpass near Hotel Metropole in central Karachi, to Star Gate near Jinnah International Airport, where it becomes N-5 National Highway.[1] [2]

This road is one of Karachi's busiest, and is used by approximately 250,000 cars and vehicles daily.[1] [3]

History

It is not clear when the road was built, however the first Air India flight took off on 15 October 1924, from Karachi's Drigh Road Aerodrome, and the record mentions the road.[4] RAF Drigh Road was a Royal Air Force base, where T.E. Lawrence, who later was famously known as "Lawrence of Arabia," was stationed between 1927 and 1928.[5]

In the 1970s, Shahrah-e-Faisal was part of the National Highway and thus belonged to the Government of Sindh. In 1977 under the dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq, Drigh Road was officially renamed Shahrah-e-Faisal after King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.[6] The city of Lyallpur was also renamed Faisalabad in his honour that year.[7] Only the road itself was renamed, and the Drigh Road name continues to be used in other contexts, such as Drigh Road Railway Station, Drigh Road Flyover, and Drigh Colony. The old name continues to be used informally.[8] [9]

In the 1980s, the Government of Sindh transferred the road to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation. An estimated 250,000 or more above vehicles now use the road daily.[1] [10]

In 1987, Shahrah-e-Faisal had around 30 hoardings (billboards). By 2014, their number had grown to 140, from Hotel Metropole to Gora Qabristan, earning the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Rs. 250 million per year. In 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered these billboards removed because, over time, several had collapsed in strong winds, killing and injuring a number of people.[11] In 2016, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation decided to demolish the Drigh Road flyover, which needed multiple repairs since it was built in 1996. This flyover on Shahrah-e-Faisal takes traffic from the airport towards Gulshan-e-Iqbal.[12] [13]

Upgrades

Traffic

Shahrah-e-Faisal is one of Karachi's busiest roads, and is the site of frequent traffic jams.[26] The Road Traffic Injury and Prevention Centre of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre showed that at least one person dies, and an average of 83 people are wounded, every day on Karachi roads. Shahrah-e-Faisal is considered to be the deadliest road.[27]

Notes and References

  1. https://tribune.com.pk/story/1180198/vip-artery-sharae-faisal-becomes-model-road/ VIP artery: Shahrah-e-Faisal becomes 'model road'
  2. https://www.samaa.tv/pakistan/2016/10/cm-sindh-approves-uplift-of-main-karachi-artery/ CM Sindh approves uplift of main Karachi artery
  3. News: What is the havoc on Pakistani roads all about? . Pakistan Today (newspaper). Aminah Mohsin. 1 March 2018. 9 October 2021.
  4. http://www.mid-day.com/articles/when-the-first-air-india-flight-took-to-the-skies-83-years-ago/16605151 When the first Air India flight took to the skies, 83 years ago
  5. Book: Mack, John E.. A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T. E. Lawrence. 1998. Harvard University Press. 978-0-674-70494-7. 362. en.
  6. Book: Pakistan Affairs. 1977. Information Division, Embassy of Pakistan.. en.
  7. Book: Shahid Javed Burki. Historical Dictionary of Pakistan. Rowman & Littlefield. 2015. 978-1-4422-4148-0. 196.
  8. Web site: Heavy rainfall wreaks havoc in Karachi. 2020-08-14. www.geo.tv. en-US. "Water started stagnating at Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Teen Talwar, Do Talwar, Bath Island, Hotel Metropole, Nursery, Karsaz, Baloch Colony, Drigh Road, and President House Road. Situation in the Airport police station's surroundings worsened due to at least 1.5-foot deep rain water on the roads, including Drigh Road, with traffic coming to a halt. Officials under the leadership of superintendent of traffic police (SP) have employed large pumps to drain the stagnating water.".
  9. Web site: Flooding and power outages persist as monsoon spell continues on second day. 2020-08-14. www.thenews.com.pk. en. A similar situation was observed on Karsaz, where the Karsaz flyover was closed for the traffic, due to which the volume of traffic towards Drigh Road increased..
  10. https://tribune.com.pk/story/680039/skin-city-the-story-of-karachis-billboards/ The Express Tribune 8 March 2014
  11. Web site: Khan. Iftikhar A.. 18 October 2018. SC orders removal of hoardings from public land across country. 14 May 2019. DAWN.COM. en.
  12. https://tribune.com.pk/story/1116510/faulty-construction-drigh-road-flyover-likely-demolished/ The Express Tribune 5 June 2016
  13. https://tribune.com.pk/story/372221/road-repair-drigh-road-flyover-undergoes-repairs-for-the-22nd-time/ The Express Tribune 1 May 2012
  14. http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/01/10/sh-e-faisal-and-sh-e-quaideen-to-be-first-to-go-solar/ Pakistan Today 10 January 2012
  15. http://tns.thenews.com.pk/truths-and-lies-about-signal-free-roads/#.WLjQetJ97ow The News 7 September 2014
  16. https://www.geo.tv/latest/114304-New-traffic-force-for-Shahrah-e-Faisal-in-Karachi Geo TV 10 September 2016
  17. http://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/353328-Ban-on-rickshaws-on-ShahraheFaisal-in-Karachi-de Dunya News 16 September 2016
  18. http://dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/07-Dec-16/sindh-govt-decides-to-restructure-6-major-roads-of-karachi Daily Times 07 December 2016
  19. http://dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/26-Dec-16/kmc-plans-to-light-up-karachi-with-mercury-energy-savers Daily Times 26 December 2016
  20. http://dailytimes.com.pk/sindh/27-Feb-17/city-lost-around-18000-trees-from-sites-of-development-projects Daily Times 27 February 2017
  21. Web site: Separate track along Sharea Faisal for bikers being made. Reporter. The Newspaper's Staff. 2018-10-17. DAWN.COM. en. 2019-12-21.
  22. Web site: Separate track for bikes on Shahrah-e-Faisal. Reporter. Our Staff. 2018-10-17. nation.com.pk. 2019-12-21.
  23. Web site: Karachi's Sharae Faisal is getting a dedicated bike lane from Metropole to Malir Halt – Samaa Digital. en-US. 2019-12-21.
  24. Web site: Separate track for bikes on Shahrah-e-Faisal Dunya News. video.dunyanews.tv. 2019-12-21.
  25. Web site: Bike lane at Shahra-e-Faisal: civilians fail to follow the law. 2018-12-01. Home - ARY NEWS. en-US. 2019-12-21.
  26. Web site: No letup in Karachi traffic jams, despite more bridges, signal-free roads Pakistan Today. 2020-08-14. www.pakistantoday.com.pk.
  27. Web site: 2015-02-08. Karachi's roads serve up recipe for traffic disasters. 2020-08-14. The Express Tribune. en. According to their research, streets in Karachi have become extremely dangerous for motorcyclists, pedestrians and for passengers of public buses. “Shahrah-e-Faisal has proved to be the most fatal road, followed by the Korangi industrial Area street, Shahrah-e-Orangi and Mauripur Road,” commented the head of RTIR & PC Dr Juma Khan..

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