KARACHI, Aug 15: Different political, social and citizens' rights organisations on Tuesday said that the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) was an integral part of public transport systems of Karachi and its complete revival was essential to redress woes of millions of commuters in this mega city.
Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Sindh Chapter Amir Dr Mumtaz Ali Memon in a statement said that in order to solve the problems of commuters of the biggest city of the country, the complete revival of the KCR was vital. He said that the government should take concrete steps in this regard instead of just political statements.
He said that the rulers had been giving statements regarding the revival of KCR since long, but lack of practical steps was creating despair amongst Karachiites. He said that the revival of this vital urban public transport sector would not only help solving problems of millions of Karachiites but also spur socioeconomic growth of this hub of national economy.
The leader of the opposition in the City Council, Saeed Ghani, said that in fact the authorities concerned had never revived the KCR. He said that the first phase of revival of KCR from Landhi to Tower railway station did not belonged to the circular railway, as it had already been the part of the main national track.
He said that the actual circular railway system was still in limbo, and no efforts were taken for its revival.
Mr Ghani said that in fact the revival of the KCR had never become a part of priorities of the rulers, as some powerful vested interests of the transport sector were opposing it to secure monopoly of the road transport.
The acting president of the Pakistan Muslim League-N Sindh, Saleem Zia, said that the revival of KCR was desperately needed to facilitate Karachiites. He said that the government should utilise all available resources to meet this outstanding demand of the people of Karachi.
Shehri, a citizen's right NGO, when contacted, its spokesperson said that authorities were not serious to revive the KCR. She said that in fact the whole system was being run on ad-hoc basis and there was no planning to solve civic issues.
The chairman of the Human Rights Committee Sindh Bar Council, Aqil Lodhi, said that an integrated transport system including buses, circular railways, trams and double-deckers was hall mark of any civilised city. He said that a few decades back Karachi too had trams, double-deckers and circular railway, but vested interests got them removed one after another.
He said that a tram had capacity for some 900 passengers, and a double-decker carried more than 100 passengers. He said that till today trams and double-deckers were successfully plying on the roads of many European countries, as well as, India, but these reliable transport facilities were snatched from Karachiites under a conspiracy to please what he called a transport mafia.
Mr Lodhi said that the KCR land worth billion of rupees had been encroached upon by land mafia in D-I/13, Kausar Niazi Colony and other areas. He charged that under a conspiracy outlet of drains were opened to damage the track in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and other areas.
Zia Awan of the Lawyers of Human Rights and Legal Aid (LHRLA) was of the opinion that not only the KCR, but also the entire civic infrastructure of Karachi was also in shambles.
He said that better means of communication, including an efficient and reliable transport system was must for rapid socioeconomic progress. He termed the KCR an integral part of public transport system of Karachi and demanded its early and complete revival.
President Consumers’ Association of Pakistan Kaukab Iqbal said that pathetic scenes of lingering traffic jams in Karachi and hoards of commuters travelling on the roofs of minibuses were the direct outcome of closure of the KCR. He said that the revival of the KCR would not only help lessening traffic jams on city roads, but also save fuel and precious time of commuters.
He demanded of the railway minister to learn from the experience of neighbouring India and order steps to fully revive the KCR at the earliest.—PPI