Activists demand scrapping of Shahrah-e-Bhutto

Residents of Malir, civil society groups, environmental activists, and lawyers have called for the cancellation of the Sindh government's mega road project, Shahrah-e-Bhutto (formerly Malir Expressway), after sections of the newly inaugurated route were washed away in recent monsoon floods.

At a press conference on Monday at the Karachi Press Club, leaders of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Movement, Sindh Indigenous Rights Alliance, and Green Chamber-Climate Action Centre, said the project was environmentally and financially disastrous.

They said the 39-kilometre multilane expressway is being built over the Malir Riverbed and floodplain, despite warnings since 2022. The project's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), approved in April 2022, remains under litigation at the Sindh High Court.

Speakers noted that part of the expressway near Jam Dam Goth was washed away in the latest rains, which the government down played as an "under-construction portion." They accused authorities of ignoring flood risks, bypassing resettlement plans, and destroying farmland, villages, and cultural sites in the process.

The cost of the project has surged from Rs27.5bn to Rs 55bn, with taxpayers shouldering the majority of expenses.