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KARACHI, May 22: Three major park projects, promised by no less personalities than President Pervez Musharraf, Corps Commander Lt-Gen Waseem Ghazi and City Nazim Naimatullah Khan, have been put into cold storage.
These parks were to be developed at the Gatter Baghicha site, Old Sabzi Mandi site and along Malir River bed. There is a zero progress on the 12-acre Gutter Baghicha park in Pak Colony; the 16-acre Old Sabzi Mandi Park and the 32-km-long park along the Malir River-bed.
It appears that even all powerful authorities find themselves helpless before the well-knit bureaucracy which feels no responsibility to honour the commitments made by the highest officials.
President Gen Pervez Musharraf, while addressing a referendum rally in April last, had announced that treatment plant site in Pak Colony would be converted into a park.
He had also directed the authorities to take appropriate measures for implementing the project.
The city government in July last tried to dismantle illegal hydrants from the site, but within no time, the operation clean-up was stopped, without taking the people into confidence.
This mystery continues to haunt the people in the vicinity who had pinned high hopes in the government, and had visioned a beautiful recreation spot in their locality.
CENTRAL PARK: The Old Sabzi Mandi area was handed formally to the Corps-5 for developing it as a Central Park under an agreement signed between the Corps-5 Commander Lt Gen Tariq Waseem Ghazi and the City Nazim, Naimatullah Khan.
The signed document indicated that the park would be developed by the army from its own resources which would not only be a pride of town-planning, but also a befitting gift to the 21st century Karachiites.
The Central Park would be the second landmark in the metropolis presented to the citizens by the army after its contribution in the form of a sprawling beautiful park around the mausoleum of the Quaid-i-Azam.
The City Nazim had requested the corps commander to develop a beautiful park for citizens under the “Green City Programme”. This request was conceded by the Corps Commander and it was decided, in principle, that the Central Park would be developed by the army from own resources to be gifted it the citizens.
After the shifting of the Sabzi Mandi, it is now over a year that the people of Karachi have been waiting for a sprawling park to be developed by the government.
They said open spaces in the city are already inadequate and as city population was increasing. Due to mismanagement and failure of the administration in guarding its open spaces, the city may turn into a most polluted city of the country.
They said Karachi lacks parks and playgrounds and if the land vacated after the shifting of the Sabzi Mandi was put to any other use, it would not only be a violation of the assurances given to the people from time to time by the successive governments, but would also cause a crisis of confidence and would widen the gulf further between the government and the people.
Bagh-i-Karachi was promised by Naimatullah Khan, along a 32-km-long dry-belt of the Malir riverbed, where besides greenery, sports and facilities were to be developed.
The Malir Riverbed is about 2,000 to 3,000 ft wide where thousands of acres of barren land is lying despite having sub-soil water in abundance in the area and some water also flows through the river which could be utilised for water-games.
In the past, beautification of coastal area was also announced and coconut plantation was carried out.
According to a report, over 1.5 lakh plants were sown, but their fate was also not known.
At the time of the announcement of the plan, it was pointed out that about 35 mgd treated water goes to waste from the treatment plant No 3 Mauripur and 20 mgd from the treatment plant No-1 which was not only increasing pollution in the sea but also making the city government spend lakhs of rupees monthly on treatment of water.
