KARACHI: JI makes seat adjustment with many parties
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, July 25: Former Karachi nazim Niamatullah Khan has revealed that the Jamaat-i-Islami-backed Al-Khidmat group has made seat adjustments with a number of political parties, including PPP, PML-N, Sunni Tehrik and JUP (Hanif Tayyab), for the local government election in the city.
“Besides, seat adjustment among the component parties of MMA and other likeminded groups, including JUP (Noorani), JUI-F, JUI-S, Jamiat Ahle Hadit and Islami Tehrik, is also being done,” he told a crowded press conference at Karachi Press Club on Monday.
Referring to the chief minister’s statement that army could be called out for the election, he said that as a matter of fact, only the presence of army was not enough. “There is a dire need for the army to supervise the election so that voters may exercise their right to franchise in a peaceful atmosphere and without any fear,” he elaborated.
Unfolding the election manifesto of Al-Khidmat group, he said that the group which would sure register a landslide victory in the light of its unmatched services over the past four years, has chalked out its next five-year plan aimed at transforming Karachi into a most civilized and modern city of the Islamic world.
The salient features of the plan, he said, include construction of wide roads, an organized transport system, well-equipped modern educational and health institutions, parks and playgrounds, introduction of better sanitation system, creation of job opportunities, etc.
The Al-Khidmat has planned a ‘surveillance system’ for keeping an eye on the activities of anti-social elements so that effective measures could be taken against those undermining the efforts towards developing the city and providing entertainment facilities to citizens. The efforts, also aimed at creating a conducive atmosphere for attracting foreign investment, would often go in vain due to the nefarious designs of these elements, he added.
The other features are setting up of a computerized demographic monitoring system, formation of peace committees at UC-level, and making conciliation committees more effective.
Describing the high unemployment rate as one of the basic causes of the city’s poor law and order situation, Mr Khan said that the Al-Khidmat group with a view to overcoming this problem had made a comprehensive plan under which 100,000 jobs would be created immediately. The work pertaining to collection of unemployed youths’ data would begin in a couple of months, he added.
He said that 14,000 jobs would be created in education and health sectors, 40,000 in private sector with the initiation of cottage industries and agro-farming estate schemes in the next phase, 5,000 through mass transit, tramway and green bus programme, and 20,000 people would be recruited in numerous development projects to be undertaken over the next five years. Employment schemes for women would also be initiated, he said.
Emphasising the need for re-organizing welfare-oriented organizations with the involvement of community’s involvement, he said that such a move would help usher in an era of involving general public in all official works to be carried out in collaboration with private sector and autonomous organizations. This would help develop people’s professional abilities and skills, besides improving their financial condition.
Niamatullah Khan said that all departments would be computerized and people would be able to lodge their complaints on-line so that they could know the status of their cases. Promotion of officials would be based on their performance.
Work on the mass transit programme, undertaken by the city government during its tenure, has enabled it to introduce mass transit system on four major corridors in different phases and it is to be implemented in the next four years.
The former city nazim renewed his pledge that tramway would be reintroduced in the city’s congested areas, and added that other schemes including completion of lane-marking work by December 2005, provision of vertical car parking plazas at 10 different places, arrangements for proper training of drivers of public transport, and improvement in traffic police system would be paid due attention.
INFRASTRUCTURE: He said that with a view to improving the city’s infrastructure, the Al-Khidmat had planned construction of 48 flyovers and underpasses. The sites included Fresco Chowk, Lea Market, Liaquatabad Dak Khana, Karimabad, etc.
The other plans are construction of an elevated road parallel to Sharea Faisal on a ‘build, operate and transfer’ (BOT) basis, Malir expressway, Qasba tunnel, Orangi expressway, southern bypass, jetties and dams for promoting fisheries and beach recreational facilities and establishing an agro-farming estate on 3,000 acres outside Karachi for cattle farming, milk processing and packaging, a most modern abattoir, etc.
Mr Khan said that although the K-3 project, designed to supply an additional 100 million gallon per day water to the city, would start functioning by June 2006, there would still be a shortfall as against the requirement. Hence, he stressed, the city government’s caretaker should immediately appoint consultants for preparing a feasibility study for arranging another 100 mgd water under the project called K-4. He said that it was on the request of the CDGK that the federal government had approved another Rs2 billion for the K-3 project.
Vowing to develop all katchi abadis in the city under low-cost housing schemes, he said that five such schemes would be initiated. Housing schemes for government officials would be completed, all fisheries colonies would be converted into low-cost housing schemes, all industrial areas of the city would be reorganized, and five new industrial areas would be set up, he said.
HEALTH: Niamatullah Khan said that a master plan for health had been prepared with an aim of setting up hospitals in all 18 towns of the city, laying a network of primary healthcare centres across the metropolis, establishing several chest pain centres and emergency/ambulance centres at each union council level. He said that 100 more seats would be added to the Karachi Medical and Dental College, a physiotherapy centre would be set up under the control of the CDGK, 50 new colleges would be opened, 4,000 government schools would be upgraded as model schools, 100 position-holders would be provided scholarships for doing their PhD, ferry service would be introduced, and forest and water parks plan would be accomplished.
