KARACHI, April 8: The City District Government Karachi has upgraded its hospitals by spending billions of rupees, said City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal on Sunday.

He was speaking as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of a dialysis centre in Kathiawar Society here.

The Nazim said that the city government has upgraded Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Trauma Centre, KIHD, Spencer’s Eye Hospital and other hospitals and provided medical facilities, including angioplasty, angiography, CT scan and ventilators.

He urged philanthropists, industrialists, traders, NGOs and welfare bodies to come forward and contribute towards the city government’s efforts for the provision of medical facilities to people.

Mustafa Kamal said the 237 medical centres can be run on the public-private partnership to help meet the medical needs of poor people.

However, he was of the view that prevention was better than cure and said consumption of clean drinking water can help protect from most diseases.

The nazim pointed out that the city government is spending a sum of Rs18 billion for the replacement of underground drinking water and sewerage lines so that there is no mixing because of seepage.

Mustafa Kamal announced that the city government is taking advantage of modern technology in devising a system whereby Karachiites would be in a position to communicate their problems and complaints to the officials concerned through call centres.

PARKING FACILITIES: The Transport and Communication Department (TCD) of Karachi city government has started a comprehensive survey of 54 areas in the city to set up new car parking facilities. This survey would be completed by the last week of the current month.

EDO Transport Muhammad Athar, when contacted, said that they were taking all-out steps to cope with the problem of lack of parking spaces in busy downtown areas and resultant traffic congestion.

He said that on the instructions of City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal, the TCD had started a survey of 54 busy areas of the city including main roads, shopping areas and business sectors, to set up new parking facilities there.

He said that survey work in this regard was in progress at M.A. Jinnah Road, Shahrah-i-Pakistan, Sharea Faisal, Sher Shah Suri Road, Saddar, Old City area, Tariq Road, Defence, Clifton, Landhi, Malir, Korangi and other areas, so that a comprehensive strategy could be chalked out to cope with car parking issue in the whole city.

Muhammad Athar said that the city government had already planned to construct multi-storied car parking lots in five areas in the city.

He said that construction work of a five-storied car parking plaza in Saddar behind Saddar Dawakhana had already started.

He said that four more such car parking plazas would be constructed at Empress Market, Saddar, Bolton Market and Clifton. He said that planning in this regard was in the final phase.

He said that presently some 1.7million registered vehicles were plying on city roads, while some 500 new vehicles, including motorcycles, were coming on city roads daily.

He said that ever-increasing number of vehicles in the city was creating great hardships towards the smooth flow of traffic and setting up of more parking spaces and plazas was a must to cope with the situation.—Agencies