KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed the divisional administration and police to keep the Seaview area open for the public on New Year’s Eve so that visitors can enjoy themselves without any hassle.

He said the people of this city had every right to enjoy the New Near’s night in a decent way and cultured manner.

However, he also directed the authorities to make strict security arrangements on the occasion so that nobody could carry weapons, use narcotics, resort to ‘one-wheeling’ or riding motorbike without silencer and create problems for other visitors.

The CM issued these directives while presiding over a meeting held here at the CM House to review security arrangements on the new year’s night on Sunday evening.

He also decided that on every Monday he would be reviewing the overall law and order in the city so that it could be maintained properly.

Reviewing security measures being taken on new year’s night, he was told that roads leading to Seaview were being closed by placing containers and strict checking would be carried out on all the roads and streets as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident.

The meeting was attended by Home Secretary Kazi Kabir, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shalwani, Additional Inspector General of Special Branch & Counter Terrorism Department Dr Waliullah Dal, DIGs of South, East, West and SSP-South.

The chief minister said that the people of this city had every right to enjoy new year night but in a decent and cultured way.

He directed the commissioner and DIG-South not to close road and the let the people go there. “But I would suggest you make strict security arrangements so that nobody could carry weapon, use narcotics, resort to one-wheeling or riding bike without silencer and create problems for the other visitors,” he said.

Mr Shah issued directives for arrest of persons carrying weapons, using alcohol and causing problems for others.

“This is our city and we all have to make it peaceful and have to demonstrate with our actions that we are educated, cultured and caring people,” he said and directed the administration to designate alternative routes towards Seaview just to avoid unnecessary traffic jams at Do Talwar or Teen Talwar but this did not mean to harass the visitors.

The chief minister further told the commissioner and the police chief that with alternative routes towards Seaview should be made in such a way that the people living in Clifton and Seaview areas might not feel inconvenience.

In the meeting when it was pointed out that some streetlights in the Defence and Clifton areas were out of order, the chief minister directed the commissioner to talk to DHA authorities to fix the problem.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2018