Clean Chundrigar Road 2014: Sanitary workers sweep II Chundrigar Road on day off

Private and government banks join hands to transform ‘Wall Street of Pakistan’.

KARACHI:

The Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar Road, commonly known as II Chundrigar Road, wore an unusual look on Sunday morning as men in white shirts, adorned with logos of 'Clean Chundrigar Road 2014', hurriedly swept a part of the 2.5 kilometre stretch.

The men were sanitary staff employed by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), the District Municipal Corporations (DMCs) as well as private and government banks. This was an unusual sight as the staff is usually off on Sundays.



"Our supervisor directed us to reach II Chundrigar Road early in the morning. They gave us this bottle of water and a small pack of biscuits," said H*, a young sanitary worker, employed at a private bank. He was among the scores of other workers who were sweeping the road. "They are making us work on our day-off without paying any overtime, simply to get publicity," quipped another worker, K*.

Hours later, the reason for the special services was revealed as the Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan arrived at the venue. He was meant to inaugurate a special campaign, aimed to transform the road into the 'Wall Street of Pakistan'. The campaign was organised by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in with the Pakistan Banks' Association.

The police blocked the road for traffic and sealed all the streets and link roads near the State Bank, where the ribbon-cutting ceremony was held. Traffic was diverted towards the MA Jinnah Road.

The governor, before he began his address, symbolically swept the road that had been cleaned by the sanitary staff a few minutes ago, to much applause from the crowd. Speaking at the ceremony, Khan said that the Government of Sindh will install a surveillance system linked with the command and control system, along with introducing community policing, to increase road security. "We plan to increase the security of 11 zones in the city and the plan will be financed by the government," he said.

He called for collective efforts by the law enforcement agencies and banks to develop the road and convert it into a model for the rest of the country. "If all the organisations and banks on the road try to keep their part of the road clean, the aims of the drive can be easily achieved."

The campaign will run throughout the year, keeping the 2.5-km stretch clear from garbage, graffiti and other waste. The road is divided into eight sections, allocated to eight major banks on the road.

Acting governor of SBP Ashraf Mahmood Wathra said that no society could afford to ignore the significance of cleanliness and hygiene. He was critical of the role of the municipal department and spoke about a similar project in 2007 for the construction and refurbishment of the road. The banks had collectively allocated Rs230 million for the project.



"After the project was completed, the municipal administration did not look after its cleanliness or maintenance," he said. Wathra lamented that II Chundrigar Road, though being the financial centre of the country, was not developed in the same manner as commercial centres in other countries. He stressed the banks to continue efforts for the development of the city.

*Names withheld to protect identities

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2014.