KARACHI, June 22: The Shehri Tanzeem has urged that work on a national park scheme at the existing site of Gutter Baghicha be started immediately and all illegal allotments of land be cancelled.

Speaking at a press conference at Karachi Press Club on Wednesday, the general-secretary of the organization, Ambar Alibai, expressed concern over the inordinate delay in the construction of the proposed park and held the city government “responsible for creating hurdles in the construction of the project.”

She reminded that despite the fact that in July 2002 the city government had decided to remove the encroachment from the site and turn the Gutter Baghicha into a park, but the project could not to be implemented due to “bureaucratic intrigues of the city government.”

Ms Ambar urged the Sindh government to implement the national park project as announced by President Musharraf in his April 28th speech as a gift for the people of Karachi and reserve the whole project land site for amenity purposes.

Also present in the press conference were Nisar Baloch and Tahir Swati, local NGO activists.

They said the city government had no right to revise the project plan, otherwise, it would send a negative message to the old populace of the city. They noted with serious concern that some 200 acres of Gutter Baghicha land had been allotted to the Officers Cooperative Housing Society of the defunct KMC for housing purposes in violation of rules in 1993.

They pledged that the people of Trans-Lyari would protect the land of Gutter Baghicha and would not allow the vested interests to usurp the land.