• JI sends letter to municipal commissioner seeking details of the project
• CM’s adviser denies any commercial activity at the drain

KARACHI: Following a protest by environmentalists and Clifton residents, the controversy surrounding the construction activity at Nehr-i-Khayyam gained further attention on Thursday when the opposition in the City Council sought answers from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) over the building of alleged recreational facilities.

With the opposition demanding official scheme details and relevant documentation, the spotlight is now on the civic authorities regarding what exactly is being built at Nehr-i-Khayyam, under whose authority and at what cost to the city’s drainage infrastructure.

Taimoor Ahmed, Deputy Parliamentary leader in the City Council, sent a letter to the Municipal Commissioner, KMC seeking details of the project, raising questions about its scope, legality and potential implications for Karachi’s drainage system.

“It has come to our attention that recreational facilities are being developed at the site which includes concreting over the natural drain,” the letter said.

“As Nehr-i-Khayyam is a storm water drain falling under KMC’s jurisdiction, and given the historical existence of this drain, we request detailed information regarding this project. Therefore, you may provide the official scheme details and relevant documentation to clarify the scope and jurisdiction of this development.”

Meanwhile, Syed Najmi Alam, an adviser to the chief minister and also a member of the City Council, posted a video over social media denying building any commercial structure at Nehr-i-Khayyam.

“I have gathered all details from the relevant department and the reports regarding constructions of shops here are not true,” he said in the video statement while standing at Nehr-i-Khayyam.

“It’s good that people and area residents are concerned over the environmental issues but let me make it clear that here no shops are being raised. I can arrange a complete briefing for all of those who have any objections or concerns. They can contact me directly.”

Earlier on Sunday, environmentalists and residents from across the city, including Clifton Block 5 Residents Association, Clifton Defence Community (CDC) and Karachi Residents’ Community (District South), gathered at the construction site of Nehr-i-Khayyam to protest the building of a commercial belt at the open drain.

The protesters held up placards with messages such as “Violation of Supreme Court orders”, “No food street on Nehr-i-Khayyam”, “What are you building? Share the plan publicly”, “Don’t suffocate our waterways”, “Narrow drain equals massive flood”, “Boat Basin Se Gutter Basin”, etc.

Founder and CEO of the Clifton Urban Forest, environmentalist Masood Lohar lamented people who call themselves architects, engineers and town planners but don’t really know what they were doing.

“Nehr-i-Khayyam is a natural link between the Obhayo Lagoon and the Gizri Creek. You can’t mess up with the marine ecosystem. If you do, you brace yourselves for floods, storms and tsunamis,” he pointed out.

Quoting the late Dawn columnist and social activist Ardeshir Cowasjee from his column published on Sept 10, 2006, one of the protesters and members of the Karachi Residents’ Community (District South), Rasha Tarek, said the columnist had called Nehr-i-Khayyam “one of the major lungs of the Clifton area”, intended “to carry rain and/or tidal water and not sewage into the open sea”.

Reminding that Nehr-i-Khayyam is an integral part of Boat Basin and Karachi’s drainage infrastructure and that its channel, open banks and surrounding landscape are shared public assets whose protection concerns the entire city, she demanded an immediate stop to the ongoing construction, which would narrow and alter the channel and its banks.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2026