KARACHI: City govt plans ban on old buses, minibuses
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 13: All old and rickety buses and mini-buses presently plying on the city roads will be banned, as they have become a source of pollution and discomfort to commuters, City Nazim Niamatullah Khan said on Sunday.
"The city government will not issue certificates of fitness to old buses and mini-buses after fixing a cut-off date to be decided later," the nazim added. He was speaking at a ceremony held to inaugurate a model park developed at Nazimabad's Inquiry Office by the city government.
Among others, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal's member of the Sindh assembly, Nasrullah Shajji, Liaquatabad Town Nazim Dr Pervaiz Mehmood, Jamaat-i-Islami's Liaquatabad Nazim Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, concerned Union Council's Naib Nazim, Ovais Yasin and district officer, Parks, Liaquat Ali Khan, also spoke on the occasion.
It is the fifth model park inaugurated in the city, while similar parks are being developed in the remaining 13 towns of the metropolis by the city government. Referring to the city's transport problem, the city nazim said that the CDGK, under its Urban Transport Scheme, had already inducted around 200 large-size new buses on different city routes, while 62 more such buses would be introduced on Sept 25 to help provide better transport facilities to the citizens.
He said that the number of such buses, which also include CNG buses, would increase to 500 by December 2004. About the city's water shortage problem, he said that with the commissioning of the K-111 project, whereby the city would get an additional 100mgd water, the existing gap between the city's water supply and its demand would be reduced considerably, thereby bringing relief to the water-starved localities.
In this regard, Mr Khan disclosed that negotiations were under way for setting up a desalination plant in the city, and a final decision in this regard would be taken shortly.
Referring to development plans, he said that a number of important and busy roads of the city had already been rebuilt, while work on remaining 20 important roads of the city, besides five flyovers to be constructed at Hassan Square, Hino Chowk, Quaidabad, Sharae Faisal and Habib Rahmitullah Road intersection, would begin in the next three months.
Reiterating that a portion of Northern Bypass will be opened for vehicular traffic in November this year, he said that with opening of the portion, a large number of heavy vehicles would directly approach the Super Highway without entering in the city's already congested roads.
Terming Karachi a 'mini Pakistan', he said all out efforts would be made to make it an Islamic welfare city. The nazim said that the present leadership of the city was keen to bring peace and tranquillity to the city, and bring an end to acts of terrorism, so as to make it an 'Islamic welfare city' without being deterred by life threats by their opponent.
At the outset, he highlighted the services of women councillors in the development of the city, saying that he was highly impressed by their role, as most of them had no such experience prior to becoming councillors.
About the education sector, he said that construction work was being carried out in schools, which were in a dilapidated condition, besides provision of necessary facilities to students there.
In this regard, he said that 32 new colleges had been opened in the city district, while 10 new colleges would be made functional before the beginning of the next academic year.
With regard to the CDGK's institute of heart diseases, he said that the hospital, which was being set up in Federal B Area, would be made operational by the end of this year.
Speaking on the occasion, MPA Nasrullah Shajji said that the number of development works undertaken by the CDGK during the last three years had outnumbered all the uplift plans carried out in the city in its 57 year history by former governments.
