• Several artificial-turf sporting zones built under Nazimabad No 1 flyover for ‘indoor’ cricket, football, and padel, along with a separate area for life-size board games
• Rs140m project to transform spaces under four flyovers into recreational spots currently being executed by KDA

KARACHI: What had long been a den for drug addicts and squatters and a dumping ground for garbage, the dark and desolate underbelly of the Nazimabad No 1 flyover has been transformed into a sports arena with several courts and spaces for different physical activities.

According to a plaque affixed to the footpath at the site, the project is titled “Beautification and recreational place in the empty space under bridge of District Central” and is slated for official inauguration in a few days.

Five enclosed multi-use sporting zones have been built in a row, separated by iron fencing along Nawab Siddique Ali Khan Road under the flyover. Four feature artificial turf for cricket, football, padel and other team sports. The fifth is dedicated to life-size board games, with games such as giant Snakes and Ladders and hopscotch painted on the ground, along with other interactive physical activities.

The Karachi Development Authority (KDA) has executed the project, which is part of a larger “Rs140 million urban development scheme, funded by the Sindh government, across four distinct sites in Karachi to transform the spaces under flyovers into recreational spots,” a senior official told Dawn.

He said the three other sites are the Five Star flyover in North Nazimabad, the Johar Chowrangi flyover and another one in Malir.

Earlier, under the Nazimabad No 1 flyover, four replicas of historical national monuments — the Quaid-i-Azam’s Mausoleum, Minar-i-Pakistan, Ziarat Residency and Khyber Pass — were built, but they subsequently fell into neglect.

Area residents said the place became plagued by vagrancy and illegal dumping.

According to the senior KDA official, constructing the sports facility required extensive efforts to reclaim the space, which had long been illegally occupied by vagrants and land grabbers.

“It took around two months of sustained effort, working in coordination with the District Central administration, to clear the area,” the KDA official said. “We faced resistance from local mafias and persistent re-encroachments, but the site has now been successfully cleared and developed for community sports.”

Fees to be imposed for public access

“The administrative control of the facility will be transferred to the District Central administration under the deputy commissioner and the municipal commissioner of Nazimabad Town,” the official said.

“As the executing agency, our responsibility is to build and hand over the infrastructure,” the KDA official said. “The deputy commissioner will oversee management and determine fee structures to ensure the facility remains accessible to the local public.”

While dismissing reports of a public-private partnership, District Central Deputy Commissioner Taha Saleem told Dawn that the flyover needed to be beautified. He said the site previously suffered from neglected monuments and misuse.

Asked about the continued presence of drug addicts and squatters under the flyover, he said: “The idea is to promote and encourage healthy activities and the beggars who used to sit there will also be discouraged.”

Responding to a question about utilisation of public land, he said: “Land isn’t the issue… space is there, but the utilisation should be good.”

Mr Saleem said the completed facility will primarily host sports activities for the local youth.

He indicated that decisions regarding public access fee and daily management will be finalised once the facility is formally handed over to the municipal authorities.

During a visit by Dawn, it appeared that the facility lacked an adequate parking space, which could result in visitors parking their vehicles on the main road.

Town chairman suspects commercial use of public space

When Nazimabad Town representatives were contacted for their views, the officials welcomed the move, but said: “First and foremost; residents of the area should have free access to the sports arena being developed on public land.”

Speaking to Dawn, Nazimabad Town Chairman Syed Muhammad Muzaffar said the government would run it on a “commercial basis”, raising questions about how a public space can be operated on commercial principles.

He claimed that the project appeared to be “a revenue-generating venture for the government”, arguing that it should ideally be free for public use to earn genuine appreciation.

He also criticised the demolition of the replicas of the national monuments that had previously stood at the site. He said commercial activities on public spaces would “invite scrutiny”.

Addressing concerns regarding public access fee and potential commercialisation, KDA Director General Asif Jan Siddiqui said: “If KMC or the local town decides to let out a facility for maintenance purposes, that is within their domain. The KDA does not manage or commercialise these sites post-completion.”

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2026