• Asks CS to resolve land issues with railways
• Directs transport dept to extend Orange Line

KARACHI: Caretaker Chief Minister retired Justice Maqbool Baqar on Wednesday directed the transport department to prepare a comprehensive presentation of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) by removing all the bottlenecks so that the project could be approved as one of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) schemes in a meeting scheduled to be held in Beijing next month.

He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting to review the progress of ongoing transport projects here at the CM House.

Transport Secretary Asad Zamin briefed the CM on KCR as well as bus rapid transit system and Peoples Bus Service. He said that the KCR project would cost around $2 billion.

The KCR route connects high-density residential areas of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Nazimabad and North Nazimabad with business districts of Karachi (Sharea Faisal, I.I. Chundrigar Road and Tower) and with the SITE industrial area.

The CM was informed that there were some land issues with the railway authorities to clear the project as it had 13km section along the Pakistan Railway main line.

Justice Baqar directed the chief secretary to hold a meeting with the railway ministry and remove all the bottlenecks, if any, and clear the project.

About BRT Green and Orange lines, the CM was informed that these two projects had been made functional, while the Peoples Bus Service was operational in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana.

Besides, electric buses and a women-only bus service were also launched in the metropolis.

The CM was told that the federal government would hand over BRT Green Line to the provincial government next year.

Justice Baqar asked the authorities to take up with the federal government the issue of the extension of the BRT Green Line from Numaish to Tower.

The CM told the transport department to study the prospect of making the Orange Line a big project by increasing its track to 10-15km.

He was briefed that the work on BRT Red Line corridor was in progress on a fast track.

Keeping in view complaints of hours-long traffic jams on University Road due to the construction of Red Line, the CM directed the transport department to take measures to improve the flow of traffic in peak hours. He also ordered the traffic police to make proper management on roads.

‘Surprise’ visit at JPMC

Meanwhile, during his surprise visit to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) the CM interacted with the patients in the emergency and surgical wards. He witnessed the condition of the hospital, pharmacy, kitchen and washrooms, and issued necessary directives for improvements.

JPMC Executive Director Prof Shahid Rasool briefed the CM about emergency, surgical complex, pharmacy, kitchen and food complex.

He also visited the Cyberknife and Tomotherapy facility where he witnessed a 17-year-old patient hailing from KPK getting treatment for brain tumour with Cyberknife and a 35-year-old lady getting tomotherapy treatment for a pelvic tumour.

Prof Tariq Mahmood told the CM that the facilities were running in a public-private partnership between the Sindh government and the Patient’s Aid Foundation.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2023