18 October 2004	Monday	03 Ramazan 1425

KARACHI, Oct 17: Instead of completing or taking up already approved development schemes worth millions of rupees for UC Gulshan-i-Hadeed, Bin Qasim Town administration is preparing to call tenders for new schemes of more than Rs10 million.

The town administration had approved Rs15 million tenders to improve infrastructure in the year 2003-04. These schemes included construction of two parks and four roads coupled with some main streets.

So far one park at the cost of Rs1 million to Rs1.2 million has been constructed while the rest of the development schemes were hanging in the balance, the area residents told APP.

They maintained that the contractors disappeared after dumping or spreading stones on some sections of the roads and streets six months ago. These thrown-away stones were posing serious problems for pedestrians especially children and women, and vehicular movement.

Azizur Rehman Memon, a councillor from UC Gulshan-i-Hadeed, said that all schemes approved during the last budget for six other union councils comprising Bin Qasim Town were almost completed.

He alleged that the Town Officer (Infrastructure Development) took least interest in the development of this area despite availability of required funds.

"Whenever we talk to the Town Officer, his reply is that no contractor is willing to execute the schemes here," he said.

Mr Aziz also pointed out that public parks constructed in Gulshan-i-Hadeed at the cost of millions of rupees some two years back were ruining for want of funds to appoint gardeners and security guards.

According to him, Bin Qasim Town financed and executed the schemes of L-1, L-2, L-12 market parks in phase-II and one in phase-I (opposite Dayar-i-Habib mosque). He said that the parks costing Rs1 million to Rs1.3 million each were completed two or three years back. After completion when the contractors disappeared, no caretaker staff was appointed by the town administration to save these facilities from destruction or encroachment. Now, he said, these facilities were fast turning into ruins.

The councillor said that he had initiated to involve the residents around to contribute in maintaining the parks and provide secure environment to visiting families, but the move had not been materialized so far.

When the Town Officer (Infrastructure Development) was contacted, he said that there were no funds allocated by the town administration to appoint gatekeepers or gardeners for these parks.-APP