KARACHI, Dec 15: The Action Committee for Civic Problems (ACCP) has rejected the Lyari Expressway and demanded restoration of Karachi Circular Railway.

The ACCP, which met at the PMA House with Baseer Naveed in the chair, said the foremost problem of the Karachi city was to develop an alternative transport system which should be cheap, comfortable, fast and environment-friendly for the citizens but instead the federal government initiated a Rs 5 billion project.

Referring to an offer by the retired railway staff regarding provision of technical services for at least one year without any remuneration, the meeting lamented that neither the Sindh government, nor the city government showed an interest in the offer.

Those who spoke at the meeting included Zahid Farooq, Dr Habib-ur-Rehman Soomro, Jan Alam, Haji Yunus, Manzoor Razi. Liaquat Sahi, Hasan Ather, Maroof Sultan, N. Jamil and Bushra Mirza.

Expressing its reservations on the Lyari Expressway project, the action committee termed it a “mare money-minting project” for government planners.

The committee pointed out that it was a general perception that the government was severely cash-starved and for running its day-to-day business it was acquiring money from local market at highest rates of interest.

If further said that the federal government instead of fulfilling its obligations about the revival of KCR was focussing on launching an expensive project.