Photo: Online
Travelling from KDA Chowrangi towards Five Star Chowrangi and Sakhi Hasan Chowrangi in North Nazimabad has become a nightmare for Karachi commuters.
It seems the construction work of the Green Line Bus Project and Bus Rapid Transit System is unending. The stretch is nearly 12.6 kilometres-long.
Both the roundabouts are also used as link roads. Traffic from Landi Kotal, Mujahid Colony, Nazimabad, Qalandria Chowk, Hyderi and the Matric Board Office all accumulate at these roundabouts. It surely is a test of the patience of people passing through this stretch on a daily basis.
The condition turned from bad to worse during the recent rain spells in Karachi. People were stuck in rainwater and traffic jams on these roads for hours.
It seems, however, that none of the authorities concerned in Karachi are well aware of why and for how long people will face this chronic problem.
We first contacted the chairperson of the KMC works and services committee, Hasan Naqvi, to get answers. But he said the road falls under the jurisdiction of the Central district municipal corporation.
When we contacted KMC chief engineer for District Central Muhammad Sami Khan, he said the entire road had been dug up because the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board is laying down a sewerage pipeline without taking approval from the KMC.
“The water board staff is involved in illegal road-cutting and starts its work without informing the KMC and other concerned authorities,” he said.
KWSB spokesperson Rizwan Hyder, however, denied this. He told SAMAA Digital that the water board is not conducting any work at KDA Chowrangi in North Nazimabad.
Central DMC Chairperson Rehan Hashmi, meanwhile, confirmed that neither is the DMC nor the KMC involved in carrying out any development work from KDA Chowrangi to Sakhi Hasan Chowrangi.
The road from KDA Chowrangi to Sakhi Hasan Chowrangi is being affected due to the ongoing construction work of the Green Line Bus Project and flyovers at the KDA, Five Star and Sakhi Hasan chowrangis.
Karachi Infrastructure Development Company Ltd, the contractor for the project, has already blocked the storm water drains of DMCs from eight spots. He said no alternative traffic routes have been provided.
The entire infrastructure of the road from KDA Chowrangi to Sakhi Hasan Chowrangi has been damaged badly due to the non-availability of alternative routes and bypasses, which were promised by KIDCL.
“I am in continuous touch with the KIDCL chief executive officer and project director over the said sensitive issue because of which the people of Karachi are suffering daily,” Hashmi said, adding that he has written several letters to the KIDCL, but all correspondence has gone in vain as KIDCL did not reply to any of his queries.
The KIDCL management was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts to establish contact.
The federal government started the Green Line project February 26, 2016 at a cost of Rs15 billion. It was supposed to be completed by December, 2017. It’s almost the end of 2019 and the project is not even nearly complete.
Publish in Samaa 08 October 2019