KARACHI, April 23: Pakistan Railways is creating hurdles in responding to China’s offer to revive Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) a service suspended by the PR due to its incurring heavy losses.
The suspension of KCR has deprived the metropolis of over 12 million people of a fast and dignified mode of communication and millions of its beneficiaries routinely shuttling between their homes and workplaces.
The PR has reportedly taken instance of owning the land through which rail tracks pass. It is seeking some sort of settlement of its claim before a green signal could be given to China on KCR revival project.
Informed sources pointed out that if the processing the offer was maintained at its current pace, the fate of this project would not be different from that of the ‘Memorandum of understanding’ (MoU) of 90s.
The basis of the apprehension is the reported complaint by Ms Kin Roi Jan, leader of the Chinese Mechanical Corporation (CMC) delegation, about an inordinate delay in finalization of the agreement to be followed by preparation of a feasibility report by Chinese engineers for the revival of KCR.
Despite lapse of a whole week after she lodged the complaint, the matter still has remained unmoved.
Although President Musharraf himself had shown his interest in the project, the authorities manipulated the situation and succeeded in diverting his attention from the issue by arranging presentation of a light-rail project. The move followed by another proposal — magnetic train — which also failed in attracting the President.
However, once again when the efforts of the elected government have succeeded in developing Chinese firm’s interest in the KCR revival, the puzzling mute response is being attributed to the PR authorities’ indifferent attitude.
The PR authorities have reportedly been insisting on its claim on land allotted to the department by the provincial government for laying of tracks meant for the KCR.
The previous MoU was signed by the World Bank and Sindh government which stood rescinded as the government had failed to meet the condition of the establishment of Karachi Mass Transit Authority which could not be set up due to the bureaucratic wrangling under the influence of transport mafia.
The bureaucracy, however, managed to hijack the WB offer by establishing National Mass Transit Authority. It had ignored the five studies conducted to provide a swift and fast mode of transport means under the system to the sprawling metropolis of the country which had a population of around 10 million in the early 90s.
Now after a lapse of almost a decade, when hectic efforts by the elected government succeeded in winning the CMC offer, the bureaucratic hurdles are again being put in the way by the PR authorities under the influence of those who want to bury the project before it could take off.
The transport mafia considers implementation of any scheme which could ensures a fast and dignified mode of transport, as a death knell for its own business. The KCR intersects all the major arteries in the city. These arteries included Mauripur Road, Maulvi Tameezuddin Khan Road, M. A. Jinnah Road, Dr Ziauddin Ahmad Road, Korangi Road, Shaheed-i-Millat Road, Sharae Faisal, Rashid Minhas Road, North nazimabad, Nazimabad, Manghopir Road and Site area. If the scheme is implemented, the commuters will prefer to avail the KCR service instead of crowded coaches and buses operated by undisciplined drivers and ill-mannered conductors.
The KCR, which made its debut sometime in 1969 with 14-Up and 14-Down trains, was popular enough among middle, lower-middle and lower class workers.
Due to the indifferent attitude of Pakistan Railways, which failed to realize the need to update its timings and the need for proper upkeep of the service, the KCR started disappointing its travellers. The city administration’s move not to grant permit to operate shuttle services from KCR railway stations to other destinations within the locality of the sprawling towns, rather allowing transporters to operate coaches and make stopover everywhere, rendered the KCR a losing concern and, as a result, its operation was suspended on Dec 15, 1999. The fare of the KCR in 1980 used to be 25 paisas while at the time of its suspension its one-way journey cost Rs2 only.
The KCR was the second victim of the transport mafia which ultimately took over of entire transport system of the city. Its first victim was Muhammad Ali Tramway in 1975, which was inherited from the British Raj as the cheapest and safest mode of transport which used to run between Garden, and Cantt Station via M. A. Jinnah Road, Mereweather Tower, Keamari, Soldier Bazaar, Saddar.
With the demise of Tramway, the transporters started gaining influence.
So much so that every time the government introduced a more comfortable and elegant public transport service with fleets of modern bus/coach fleets, the vehicles landed in government-owned junkyards after a short period.
Financial gains, coupled with strong influence, enabled the mafia to buy any government functionary. Those refusing to come to its terms is now bound to be removed from his post, according to sources.
For the very reason, informed circles said, the mass transit project could not materialize despite the fact that the government had already spent Rs3 billion on the construction of flyovers on railway crossings and Rs322 million on more than half-a-dozen studies over the past 50 years.
