10,000 illegal houses over Gujjar Nullah to be demolished

CM’s new deadline gives Karachi two months to get clean


Our Correspondents July 23, 2016
Picture shows the destroyed houses next to Gujjar nullah near Gulberg in Karachi. PHOTO: EXPRESS

KARACHI: In yet another announcement to restart the anti-encroachment drive on Gujjar Nullah, the local administration vowed to remove 10,000 illegal houses built over the natural drain.

Three drown as house falls into Gujjar Nullah

District Central deputy commissioner Captain (retd) Fariduddin Mustafa announced on Saturday that the anti-encroachment drive has kicked off from Café Pyala in Gulberg Town. A similar drive was launched last year in August with much fanfare but it died down without achieving any significant results. The original length of Gujjar Nullah, which starts from Haji Mureed Goth and ends in North Karachi Sector 11-J, was 13 kilometres and it was 210 feet wide, pointed out Mustafa, adding that the width has been reduced to only five feet at many locations due to encroachments.

"For now, we will only make it 60 feet wide," he said, adding that, on Saturday, 400-metre-wide space was cleared. The encroachers have been warned to vacate the spot by Monday. There are around 30,000 illegal houses over Gujjar Nullah and 10,000 of these will be demolished, he claimed.

Taking action: Illegal bachat bazaars to be demolished 

A 10-foot-wide road will be built on both sides of the drain after the encroachment drive, he promised. The current operation is, however, not the part of the great Gujjar Nullah resettlement project as that involved the rehabilitation of the affected families, Mustafa clarified. "Currently, we are only cleaning the nullah bed."

CM extends garbage cleaning deadline

Realising his earlier deadline of three days was unrealistic to clean up Karachi, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has given the local administration two months to lift all the garbage.

"I had given them [local administration] three days just to wake them up from slumber and assess their capacity," said Shah, speaking to the media at Karachi airport shortly before his left for Dubai on Saturday. "I am giving them more time now to clean the city." Merely three days to clean this megacity of all the garbage is not only difficult but also impossible, he said. "I am happy to see the administration worked hard and this is just the beginning of the work," he said. "[The cleanliness drive] will be successfully completed within two months."

Shah pointed out that the city administration was seeking at least six months to clean the city. "[But] I will not give them so much time," he said. "This is a big job. They have to lift the accumulated garbage and debris along with regular sweeping and lifting of household waste," he said. Moreover, the de-silting of four storm water drains and nullahs was also in progress and the garbage excavated from the nullahs has to be transported to landfill sites, he added.

Razed to the ground: Three-storey building demolished during encroachment drive

Earlier, the chief minister visited different areas of the city where cleanliness work was in progress. His entourage, which included Karachi AIG Mushtaq Maher, Karachi commissioner Aijaz Khan, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation administrator Laiq Ahmed and some municipal commissioners, paid a visit to Boat Basin nullah, Mai Kolachi Road, MA Jinnah Road, Old Sabzi Mandi, Hassan Square, Baitul Mukarram Masjid, Stadium Road, Manzoor Colony and Qayyumabad nullah.

Shah got off his jeep at Boat Basin and Qayyumabad nullahs where de-silting had been carried out. He directed Sindh local government minister Jam Khan Shoro, who joined him at Boat Basin, to ensure the lifting of filth and garbage dung from the nullahs and transportation to the landfill sites. "If it is left along the embankments of the nullahs again, it will fall back," he pointed out. The chief minister offered cash prizes to those officers who ensure cleanliness in their areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24th, 2016.

COMMENTS (2)

ishrat salim | 7 years ago | Reply PPP govt sleeping all these years while 30,000 illegal settlement was built on the nullah. Now, it has become a headache for the administration. Had there were development in the interior Sindh, people would not travel to Karachi to seek refuge and daily earning. Influx of people from all over Pakistan has created a mess on the infrastructure.
syed & syed | 7 years ago | Reply Mr Qaim Ali you behave like Shah. Without giving a thought you issued Nadir Shai Hukm to clean in three days.Now you are talking about 8 months.Wit this team you will not achieve it not even in decades Please think if you have brain before jump
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