KARACHI, Dec 22: Residents of Gulshan-i-Iqbal’s Block 14 have expressed their dismay over the lethargy, inaction and senseless moves on the part of the town administration which, they say, was incompetent enough to keep even the area surrounding the Town Nazim’s office neat and clean.

“With the UK Apartments at one end and the Stadium Road and DC East’s office at the other, the road leads to the University Road. It has been in a dilapidated condition for long despite being very close to the Town Nazim’s office. None of the town officials has so far bothered to think of its repair,” the residents complained.

Regarding their allegation about the administration’s senseless moves, they said that almost all the trees, planted across the green belt to beautify the area and contain environmental pollution, were being cut down. The trees, they added, were being replaced with street lights and the town officials, perhaps, deemed the tree-felling necessary to ensure an unhindered lighting arrangement.

One of the residents, Farida Ghaffar (an architect), said that the road was destroyed by the water tankers moving frequently in the area to fetch water from the nearby hydrant. The logging, she said, started from the Busy Bee restaurant spot and was stretched across the road to the DC office.

The residents pointed out that a big portion, about 20-ft wide and 50-ft long, of the road-side drain cover, which serves as pavement, near the area’s Family Park had also caved in. The park, frequented by a large number of women, children and the elderly every day, has turned into a booby-trap for children while the foul smell emitting out of the drain hole had stunk the entire locality.

The Town Municipal Officer of Gulshan-i-Iqbal has maintained that the road could not be repaired immediately. However, he added, a proposal had been sent under the Khushhal Pakistan Programme for the purpose and the work would probably start in a year or so. The work on covering of drain would start in a couple of days, he added.