KARACHI, Sept 18: The shifting of all the EDO offices to the city government’s new head office at Civic Centre may take months since basic infrastructures of the building, including water and sewerage system, telephone exchange and standby generators, are not in a position to meet the requirements when thousands of employees and visitors will begin arriving in the building.
At present, out of 14 EDOs of the city government, only the EDOs of health and information technology departments have moved in from the old KMC building, while the EDOs of the master planning department, works and services, transport and communication and DG KMTP were already stationed in the building as these departments mainly consisted of staff and officers belonging to the defunct KDA.
Despite their eagerness, the health and the IT departments have been able to shift only partially due extreme shortage of space.
The major reason for these problems is stated to be improper planning due to which the civil work required for alterations in the building to make room for new offices has been stopped.
Civil work has been stopped by the contractor due to non- payment of about Rs4 million for the completed work, while the running contract awarded to the K.A. Brothers has not been renewed nor has any new tender been floated by the city government.
The original contract, worth Rs50 million, was awarded by the defunct KMC, out of which work at a cost of Rs35 million has been carried out in repair and maintenance of different buildings.
However, civil work at a cost of about Rs4 million have been done at renovation of the Civic Centre.
Nevertheless, according to experts, it will take at least three months and civil work costing Rs3 to Rs4 million will be needed for complete renovation of the building to adjust all the 14 EDO offices.
Though the building was built about 20 years back, its sewerage system is on verge of collapse and water leakage is witnessed at all the ducts, carrying water and sewerage pipes. The main building has four sets of lavatories at each of its ten floors but none of them is in a good condition.
Some are without light, others with heavy leakage while most of them are choked, while there is no proper arrangement for drinking water.
Besides, the city government head office has only about 40 direct telephone lines and an old 40 x 400 PABX, which is obsolete, even its parts are not available in the market and the 240kw standby generator for the building can only supply power to two elevators, chiller plant and few rooms.—PPI
