THIS refers to the letter ‘Flooded underpass’ (Oct 5). The writer has highlighted the poor condition of Karachi’s infrastructure and commented on an underpass which was flooded after recent rains.

Although it was the incumbent city administration which should have pumped out the accumulated water on roads and underpasses, it is, in fact, not the Sindh government which built these sub-standard and faulty underpasses.

These underpasses were built by previous mayor Mustafa Kamal, who wasted Rs29 billion provided by Gen Pervez Musharraf, when he was the president of Pakistan. Kamal constructed bumpy, uneven roads, bridges and underpasses. In fact, all underpasses built during Kamal’s tenure never had any drainage system and would turn into rivers whenever it would rain.

Not only this, but a whole ramp which was wrongly built on the Baloch Colony flyover, had to be demolished by the Sindh government about a couple of years ago to widen Sharea Faisal. The ramp had been closed as it was not serving any purpose because traffic from Sharea Faisal could have created massive traffic jams in the middle of the flyover.

This waste of public money by the former mayor is the biggest injustice done by anyone to the people of Karachi.

M. Raj
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2019