KARACHI, Feb 26: Another group of 32 professionals, academics, men/women of letters and media personalities have issued a statement in support of prominent citizens concerns regarding Beach Development Project of DHA

It says: "We, the undersigned fully support the statement of concern issued by 22 prominent citizens of Karachi (published in the Dawn of 14 February 2007), including two former judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, regarding the Defence Housing Authority's Beach Development Project.

The project completely usurps the beach with activities that the poorer Karachiites cannot afford and restricts their access to the beach. These activities include theme parks whose entrance fee by experience of similar parks we know are too high for poor families; a railway track along the beach whose fare is estimated at Rs90 per trip; expo centres; condominiums (which will be inaccessible for security reasons); exclusive clubs; and most surprisingly, multi-storey car parks on the water's edge.

We recognise the need for these facilities for the elite but not at the expense of losing the beach for the citizens of the city. As such, we strongly recommend that the provisions of the Karachi Coastal Management Plan 2000, prepared by the then Karachi Development Authority with assistance from the United Nations, be followed and a construction-free-zone of 50 metres between the high water mark and construction be maintained. This zone should be accessible to the public. Such construction-free-accessible-zones are maintained in urban areas under laws in India, Thailand, Vietnam, now also in Sri Lanka, and in the developed world.

We are very concerned that the beach project will deprive not only the citizens of Karachi but also visitors from all over Pakistan of access to an important recreational asset. In this connection it is important to note that 4,655 persons belonging to 73 CBOs and NGOs from all over Pakistan and residents of 89 lower and lower-middle income locations in Karachi have signed a statement voicing concerns similar to ours regarding this project. We are also very concerned that this project will further fragment an already fragmented city by eliminating its most accessible and important multi-class public space.

Ghulam Kibria, Shahab Ghani Khan, Husnain Lotia, Syed Akeel Bilgrami, Khusro Mumtaz, Dr Murad Khan, Harris Khalique, Arif Belgaumi, Dr Agha Ajmal, Dr Riffat Moazam Zaman, Kausar S. Khan, Kamil Khan Mumtaz, Shahid Khan, Khawar Mumtaz, Dr Shifa Naeem, Afiya S. Zia, Khalid Mahmood, Khalid Mir, Asad Umer, Rina Saeed Khan, Maheen Khan, Tanya Shafi Khan, Asad Sayeed, Sonia Rehman, Shiraz Manzoor Haider, Gulbaz Khan Afaqi, Rana Shafiq-ur-Rahman, Fozia Tanveer, Hasan Zaidi, Tahera Hasan, Laila Haider and Maheen Zia, have signed this statement.