Arrested development: Slow pace of work on flyovers irks commuters, residents
Construction work has been causing traffic jams and has disrupted commercial activities.
At Malir 15, residents protested the delays in the completion of the two projects on Thursday. PHOTO: NNI/FILE
KARACHI:
The slow pace of work on development projects, such as the Malir Halt flyover, Malir 15 flyover, Shaheen Complex flyover and Teen Hatti flyover, has irked citizens as the construction work has been causing severe traffic jams in the surrounding areas, The Express Tribune has learnt.
At Malir 15, residents protested the delays in the completion of the two projects on Thursday. According to the plan, there is no diversion for traffic at the Malir Halt flyover while the alternative route at the Malir 15 flyover has been causing inconvenience to commuters.
“The excavation and closure of roads has disrupted routine commercial activities and the area has become a safe haven for criminal activities during the rush hours,” said one of the protesters, Tayyab Ali.
A similar situation can be witnessed in the vicinity of the Teen Hatti flyover, where shopkeepers and residents have complained to the city administration and demanded immediate completion of the work.
Last month, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation administrator Rauf Akhtar Farooqui sacked most of the employees who were working on the project.
Meanwhile, the project director and KMC’s head of technical service department, Niaz Ahmed Soomro, told The Express Tribune that the project would be completed before its scheduled time in June 2014.
He added that his department was working day and night and that the Malir projects would also be completed by the scheduled date. Soomro said, however, that the department was facing difficulties due to the unfinished anti-encroachment drive.
In response to a question regarding the delays in the Shaheen Complex project, Soomro said that all legal and preliminary arrangements had been completed. The department is waiting for the draft of a new plan after making the proposed changes and would start work on the project soon.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2014.
The slow pace of work on development projects, such as the Malir Halt flyover, Malir 15 flyover, Shaheen Complex flyover and Teen Hatti flyover, has irked citizens as the construction work has been causing severe traffic jams in the surrounding areas, The Express Tribune has learnt.
At Malir 15, residents protested the delays in the completion of the two projects on Thursday. According to the plan, there is no diversion for traffic at the Malir Halt flyover while the alternative route at the Malir 15 flyover has been causing inconvenience to commuters.
“The excavation and closure of roads has disrupted routine commercial activities and the area has become a safe haven for criminal activities during the rush hours,” said one of the protesters, Tayyab Ali.
A similar situation can be witnessed in the vicinity of the Teen Hatti flyover, where shopkeepers and residents have complained to the city administration and demanded immediate completion of the work.
Last month, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation administrator Rauf Akhtar Farooqui sacked most of the employees who were working on the project.
Meanwhile, the project director and KMC’s head of technical service department, Niaz Ahmed Soomro, told The Express Tribune that the project would be completed before its scheduled time in June 2014.
He added that his department was working day and night and that the Malir projects would also be completed by the scheduled date. Soomro said, however, that the department was facing difficulties due to the unfinished anti-encroachment drive.
In response to a question regarding the delays in the Shaheen Complex project, Soomro said that all legal and preliminary arrangements had been completed. The department is waiting for the draft of a new plan after making the proposed changes and would start work on the project soon.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2014.