KARACHI, May 30: A fire-fighting training institute, planned some 20 years back, is yet to be established in the city, as successive governments failed to initiate the project. Over 11-acre land was allotted in Baldia for the institute but due to the negligence, about 3.5 acres had been encroached upon by the land-grabbers. Sources told Online that the defunct Karachi Municipal Corporation had allotted 11.5 acres for establishment of the training institute in Baldia in 1985-86 but later the successive authorities concerned did not take any interest.

The fire brigade department had requested by time and again KMC administration and later city government officials for allocation of funds for the said project. The defunct KMC administration did not even bother to construct the boundary wall around the allocated land which encouraged the land mafia to take the advantage.

However, a city government official claimed that the city government had taken serious notice now and a conceptual plan had been prepared for establishment of a multi-purpose training institute.

The DCO had also approved the plan and directed the authorities concerned to prepare the feasibility report and PC-I so that funds could be allocated, the official said.

The district officer (anti-encroachment cell) had also been asked to initiate work to remove encroachments on the land. To avoid further encroachments, the city government would construct boundary wall around the land, he added.—Online