HYDREABAD: Sindh Chief Secretary (CS) Syed Asif Hyder Shah on Tuesday called for completion of development works around the Qalandar Lal Shahbaz’s shrine to beautify the area at a cost of Rs1,280m before the commencement of his next urs in January.

He was presiding over a zoom meeting on uplift works. Jamshoro Deputy Commissioner Ghazanfar Qadri and other officials attended it via zoom link from Sehwan.

Mr Qadri told Dawn that the schemes included an expenditure of Rs1,280m. Some works were completed in 2025-26 and the remaining would be executed in the ongoing fiscal year, he added.

He said the ongoing works pertained to construction of a dual carriageway from College Chowk to the Bodlo Bahar’s shrine. “Old alam pak will be strengthened with iron work,” he said. New marble flooring would be laid at the shrine so that visitors do not face difficulties during summer, he added.

Chief secretary says Rs1.28bn scheme should be executed before January 2027

He stated that musafir khana and chillah gah of Qaladnar at Lal Bagh was being developed. The street from the Bodlo Bahar’s shrine to the bazaar would be developed to ensure symmetry.

The meeting was also attended online by secretaries of Works & Services and Public Health Engineering, Hyderabad Division Commissioner Fayyaz Abbasi, Hyderabad DC Zainul Abideen Memon and other officials.

The DC of Jamshoro briefed about works being carried out in Sehwan to facilitate devotees during the annual urs of Hazrat Qalandar Lal Shahbaz.

He said that schemes included rehabilitation and improvement of roads leading to Sehwan and shrine of Qalandar, along with drainage, water supply, street-lighting and pedestrian facilities. He discussed reconditioning of dual carriageway from Jahaz Chowk, Sehwan, to the entrance gate of Degree College Sehwan via Sehwan–Dadu Road. The project included installation of paver blocks, construction of footpaths, installation of solar street lights, drainage facilities and an improved water supply system.

The CS directed the DC and relevant departments to ensure schemes were completed by Dec 31, 2026 before the commencement of the urs. “Convenience and safety of devotees must remain the foremost priority. All roads, drainage systems, streetlights, footpaths, water supply facilities and other related works must be fully completed and made operational before the urs,” said the CS.

He said that road construction, drainage, water supply and other works must be done in a coordinated manner to ensure that newly-constructed roads were not damaged or excavated. He ordered timely removal of encroachments from the routes used by devotees.

Meanwhile, the DC of Hyderabad gave a detailed briefing on the city’s flagship projects, including Phase-III of Autobahn Road from Unit No-7 Latifabad to Fateh Chowk, construction of a pumping station at Public School Hyderabad, construction of roads from Shahbaz Flyover to Unit-7 Latifabad and from Alamdar Chowk to NH-5, establishment of an MGD filtration plant for various villages in Hyderabad taluka, completion of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Flyover at Hala Naka, and construction of a bridge and connecting road at Kali Mori near Government College University, Hyderabad.

The CS ordered completion of development schemes in Hyderabad within the approved timelines. Projects should not only be physically completed but made functional for public use, he issued instructions. No compromise would be tolerated on quality of construction materials or execution of work.

He directed officers to ensure regular technical inspections, proper testing of construction materials, transparency in utilisation of public funds and adequate safety arrangements at all project sites.

Commissioner Fayyaz Abbasi was directed to supervise implementation of the schemes, identify any administrative or technical bottlenecks and ensure prompt resolution.

The CS instructed the commissioner and DC of Jamshoro to conduct regular field inspections and closely monitor quality/pace of work.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2026