Putting Karachi back on rails
What Prime Minister Imran said in Karachi this Monday while speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Karachi Circular Railway resonates equally with the people of the entire country because people from all parts of the country live and work in this megacity. He said cities act as engine of growth all over the world, emphasising that Karachi has the same importance for Pakistan as London has for the UK and New York for the US. It leaves no room to doubt the significance of Karachi as the economic hub of Pakistan. The PM called for better coordination between the Centre and Sindh government for timely completion of mega development projects as this would benefit the city, province and the country evenly. He acknowledged that neither could the Centre nor the provincial government work for the development of the city alone; they need to cooperate with each other. It is necessary to revive the city and put it back on the road to progress.
For the past several years, civic infrastructure has been crumbling in this sprawling city. It has become a badly disorganised city. It is without public transport; most roads are reduced to rubble; the water supply system is in a shambles. Even the poorest have to purchase potable water. Residents have been hearing for the past several years that the K-4 bulk water supply scheme will be completed soon. Now a federal minister has said the project will be completed by 2023. However, those in the know of things say there are many obstacles in the way of the scheme; it would take more than a decade to complete it. The drainage system in the entire city has nearly collapsed. Every year in the rainy season, the city roads turn into canals.
The PM has rightly underscored the importance of a rapid mass transit system aligned with an integrated transport system for Karachi. The railway minister says the KCR project will be completed in two years. Since 2001, several attempts have been made to partially restore the KCR. A rapid mass transit system is essential for big cities.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2021.
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