KARACHI, April 15 The Sindh government has chalked out a comprehensive strategy for the implementation of development projects, aimed at improving the civic infrastructure, in Lyari Town.

The development work is already under way with the implementation of the first phase, under which new water, sewerage and gas pipelines are being laid in different parts of the town — including Daryabad, Nawabad, Baghdadi, Shah Beg Lane, Rangiwara and Chawkiwara. In some of these areas, the uplift work is in an advanced stage of completion.

Officials tasked with the execution of the Lyari Development Package told Dawn on Wednesday that education was also being accorded a top priority under the package. Government schools would be upgraded and their buildings renovated, they said.

They said that students of Lyari schools would be provided with all the facilities that had been made available to the children of the families settled in Taiser Town after they were shifted from the route of the Lyari Expressway.

Special priority would be given to the improvement of sanitation and removal of encroachments, they said, adding that encroachment was the biggest problem in executing the infrastructure development projects.

“Initially, we will remove all encroachments along Mirza Adam Khan Road to give the Lyari Expressway a cosy look and to ensure a smooth flow of traffic on and around it,” they said.

It is learnt that a retired senior administrative official will be appointed to oversee the execution of the package.

The development plan envisages a pedestrian flyover to be installed at the town's prime intersection of Lea Market. All encroachments around the historical market will be removed to restore the original width of major thoroughfares and link roads leading to it.

The officials stated that adequate funds would be spent on improving the hygienic and other conditions at the Lyari General Hospital, the only major public sector hospital in the town.

Lack of basic amenities, poor living condition, abject poverty, environmental pollution, unemployment and illiteracy have been identified as the main issues needed to be resolved on an urgent basis under the package.

Officials hope that various income support schemes sponsored by the public and private sectors will help bring down the unemployment rate as such schemes are designed to create job opportunities on a big scale.

Lyari Town is the oldest settlement of Karachi city, having a population of 607,992 people, originally comprising labour class, shopkeepers, small businessmen and low-grade government servants. A small population of middle-class has now emerged due to increasing trade and commercial activities over a past few decades.

The number of small businessmen, factory owners, shopkeepers, teachers, professionals and government employees has gradually been increasing over the past two decades.

Under the new local body system, the locality has been given the status of a town but its commercial areas, including Lea Market and Timber Market which were generating considerable revenues for it, have been excluded from its limits.

The Town has been divided into 11 union councils. Following is the break down of the total population UC-1 Agra Taj Colony 45,691, UC-2 Daryabad 59,281, UC-3 Nawabad 45,107, UC-4 Khadda Memon Society 58,363, UC-5 Baghdadi 56,653, UC-6 Shah Beg Lane 58,127, UC-7 Bihar Colony 44,571, UC-8 Rangiwara 60,121, UC-9 Singoo Lane 49,529, UC-10 Chawkiwara 66,208 and UC-11 Allama Iqbal Colony 64,341.

Being an old settlement, Lyari has been a hub of political activity ever since the birth of Pakistan. Until the late '60s, Pakistan Muslim League (PML) dominated the local politics. Later, in the '70s, the Pakistan People's Party led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gained overwhelming support among the Lyari population because of its popular politics. The PPP has still maintained has an edge over other political parties as is evident from the recent general elections.

Decades of neglect have kept the local population below the poverty line and, as a result, many areas of the town have become a safe haven for criminal gangs.