KARACHI, Jan 3: Niamatullah Khan, the Nazim of Karachi, has said that he is trying to get all the Katchi Abadis in the city regularized as soon as possible.

Speaking at a function held at the Amina Public School in Orangi Town on Monday, he said the city government had started granting ownership rights to the dwellers of the 538 Katchi Abadis of the city. The lease rate was so low that the poor people living in the slums could easily afford it.

Mr Khan said the development of Karachi - including construction of factories, roads, bridges and flyovers - had become possible due to the hard-working residents of the Katchi Abadis.

He said the city administration was trying to provide these localities and other backward areas with all civic facilities. He said he himself had started his career, after he came over to Pakistan on Aug 28, 1947, from a hut in a slum in the Quaidabad area.

He lived in the Katchi Abadi for many years and arranged the marriage of his sister while living there. The Nazim said his administration was taking steps to improve the supply of water and disposal of sewage. He said Rs4.5 billion had been earmarked for water supply and Rs19 billion for sewerage disposal.

He said the K-3 project was continuing apace which would supply an additional 100 million gallons of water to the city. He said that following the completion of this project and desalination of 50 million gallons of seawater, there would be no water scarcity.

Referring to the construction of Faqir Colony, Nishan-i-Haider Chowk and Manghopir Road, Mr Khan said the city government was building the Shahrah-i-Orangi at a cost of Rs400 million. He said the completion of this road would greatly benefit the residents.

He said three former premiers had been elected from Lyari but the area was still the most backward area of the city, adding that the city government had initiated the construction of three major highways in Lyari.

Mr Khan said that after the completion of the under-construction roads, bridges and flyovers, the industrial areas would witness a great improvement in infrastructure, which would result in industrial progress and more jobs. He said he had tried to resolve the problems of Karachi with limited funds.

The city government had given the Nazims of 178 union councils Rs3.5 million each during the first year, and Rs6.4 million during the second and the third years, respectively, for launching uplift schemes in their areas.

He pointed out that before his administration, the city government's budget had never crossed the Rs6 billion mark, but he presented budgets worth Rs20.5 billion, Rs27 billion and Rs29 billion, respectively, during the last three years.

The Nazim said he was trying to introduce a culture of peace and accountability in the city. He said the first mass transit corridor would be built from Sohrab Goth to Merewether Tower.

He said a project had been launched to grow forests in Karachi and in this regard, areas of Hub Dam and Gutter Baghicha had been selected. He said forests would help change the climate of the city, on the lines of Islamabad.

He vowed to make Karachi a model city. Those who also addressed the function were School Principal Noorul Aeen, Zubeda Dossal, Shaista Zaidi, Mr Zaffar, Rafaat Ali and others. - PPI