KARACHI, Sept 18: Within one year of its establishment, the city government has completed a number of development projects, including road and roundabout constructions, besides initiating renovation works in various important buildings.
According to a report released by the works and services department of the city government, a number of projects lying in the cold storage were revived and completed, which include work on Nishter Road, Ibne Sina Road and Mauripur Road, whereas work on phase-II of the Karachi Medical and Dental College (KMDC) has also started.
The status of all these roads was hanging between being and non-being due to differences between the civic departments and the private parties, causing enormous difficulties for the public. Several lives were lost due to traffic accidents on the Ibne Sina Road, which links Orangi nullah with Liaquatabad No 10.
Similarly, the extension (phase-II) work on the KMDC had been pending since 1998 and nearly half of the college was functioning in a maternity home in F.B. Area, while the main college is situated on the Allama Rashid Turabi Road in North Nazimabad.
The report also highlights a number of renovation and restoration works initiated by the city government at historical buildings, including the Wazir Mansion, which was declared a protected monument in 1953 and a national monument in 1979.
Though the building falls under the jurisdiction of the department of archeology and museums of Pakistan, the city government undertook essential repair work on it on a voluntary basis.
Major renovation and repair work was also done in the Khaliq Dina Hall which was constructed in 1906 and where the trial of Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali was carried out by the British for their active role in the Khilafat Movement.
The works and services department also undertook major repair works at the city’s second oldest health-care facility - the Sobraj Maternity Hospital which was built in 1928.
To meet the challenges of the growing traffic problems, work on Shah Faisal flyover, FTC flyover and the Sharah-i-Quaideen flyover is in progress.
The Shah Faisal flyover project was inaugurated on Aug 14, 2001, which was the first day of city government, and it is expected that the flyover will be opened for the public on March 23. However, the Sharah-i-Quaideen flyover is now at its documentation stage.
The report also informs about the roundabouts and major road infrastructures completed on the first anniversary of the city government, including the Board Office roundabout, North Nazimabad-Aisha Manzil roundabout and the Water Pump roundabout in F.B. Area.
Despite channelization of Manzoor Colony nullah and other stormwater drains, including Pitcher nullah, Niazi nullah, Kalri nullah, Orangi nullah and Gujar nullah, all of which terminate in Lyari River, no desilting or dredging work had been done for years at these vulnerable points which swell beyond limits even after light rains.
Only because of dredging before the monsoon season this year water accumulation in the city after rains was observed to be at a much smaller scale as compared to the previous record.—PPI