KARACHI, Feb 9: A division bench of the Sindh High Court dismissed on Wednesday a petition against the proposed dismantling or shifting of the planetarium functioning in the city since 1980.

The petitioner submitted through Advocate Mustafa Lakhani that the planetarium, set up by the PIA on the University Road, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, was of great educational and entertainment value to the citizens, particularly students. It is visited by about 200 students and 50 to 60 people daily on weekdays on payment of entry fee amounting to Rs 20 for students and Rs 30 for others. The number of visitors was higher on Sundays.

A sum of Rs 100,000 per month, according to the petition, is paid by a marriage hall set up on the premises. The maintenance staff is not on the airline's payroll and is paid considerably less than the PIA employees. In any case, the planetarium is not a commercial but an educational project and should not be allowed to be wound up in the public interest. The petition said the citizens had acquired a vested right in continued running of the planetarium.

It was submitted on behalf of various respondents that the plot of land housing the planetarium belonged neither to the city district government nor to the provincial government nor to the PIA but to the federal government-run Export Promotion Bureau.

The PIA was already suffering a big loss every month and the operational cost would go up if it had to pay rent for the plot as demanded by the EPB.

The bureau said it required the land for its own purposes, particularly for expansion of the Expo Centre, for promotion of trade, investment and exports.

Dismissing the petition, the bench, which consisted of Justices Ataur Rahman and Zia Pervez, observed that it could not be allowed due to the respondents' inability to maintain the facility.