KARACHI, July 4: The open space near Al-Asif Square, which has been reserved for developing a beautiful park on it, is going to 'disappear' as vested interests have joined hands to deprive Karachiites from a healthy environment.

This open space, spread over 20 acres near the city's entrance, was to be turned into a park as promised by then Sindh governor Moeenuddin Haider in 1999 after conducting an anti-encroachment drive there.

The city administration, later in November 2001, carried out another anti- encroachment operation, cleaning the area of pushcart dealers and fruit and vegetable vendors. It also endorsed a plan for the park.

The land remained neglected by authorities who failed to honour their commitment of carrying out development work on the site from November 2001. It has, however, now again drawn the attention of transporters, who want to use it as an inter-city bus terminus.

Backed by police, numerous pushcart dealers and fruit vendors have set up their business there. It has also been learnt that some revenue officials have sliced a five acre plot and allotted it to some builder.

Concerned citizens have cautioned the city's authorities that if they failed to take notice of the new development, the city, which had already lost all its open spaces to the greedy builders' mafia, would get yet another concrete area instead of a park.

Residents of the locality, who have seen two anti-encroachment operations in the name of developing a park in the past, were surprised to see the site being turned into a parking lot for the increasing numbers of inter-city buses.

"Open spaces are becoming inadequate for the increasing population, as many have been encroached upon by manipulators, forcing children to play on roads at the risk of their lives," they said, pointing out that the city, which used to be a modern and planned city in the region, had turned into the most polluted city of the country due to mismanagement and administration's failure of guarding its open spaces.

"It has become all the more necessary to develop the park as all earmarked open spaces for park have been used for commercial purposes depriving citizens of healthy environments," the citizens said, demanding that all such spaces be restored.