Inner-city congestion: 23 markets to be moved to Northern Bypass

New Zulfikarabad city will need 1m acres in Thatta district.

KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to move around 23 markets from downtown Karachi to the Northern Bypass. The decision was made as inner-city traffic congestion has become unbearable.

At a meeting at Governor House on Saturday, jointly chaired by the chief minister and governor, officials decided that the land will be handed over to the city government and work will start as soon as possible. The meeting was attended by the newly appointed District Coordination Officer (DCO) Karachi, Muhammad Hussain Syed.

The markets are: Anja market and Jodia Bazaar and markets for iron, cloth, furniture, timber, paper, scrap, warehousing, marble, asphalt, car showrooms, cold storage, slaughterhouses, the grain market, electronic market and truck stands.

The new area will get shops, godowns, factories, truck stands, banks, hospitals, mosques and police check post. The government was of the view that they have taken the decision based on demands made by the traders of Karachi.

But as expected, such a large number of traders will oppose it. Some said that they were not consulted and the government was taking a unilateral decision. Talking to The Express Tribune, Atiq Mir of the All Karachi Tajir Association said that they had been in business for 50 years and would oppose the decision. “We are being looted in daylight in the city.

Who will provide us security over there?” he asked.

Anees Majeed of the Karachi Wholesellers and Grocers admitted that they had given a plan to move Jodia Bazaar to the Northern Bypass, but during the meeting no one had consulted them. “We don’t know who made the decision and which plan they are going to follow.”



The chief minister also chaired a meeting on land for the proposed city of Zulfikarabad in Thatta. One million acres will be needed and President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the Sindh government to arrange it. The Sindh Land Bank will transfer 350,000 acres to the Land Management and Development Company. Also, 1.5 million acres are available in four talukas of Thatta district, out of which 850,000 acres are under seawater and 450,000 acres are above.

The CM directed the officers of the Board of Revenue and DCO Thatta and EDO (Revenue) of Thatta to visit the area and submit a report in three days.

The CM directed the Coastal Development Authority to connect the newly constructed 18-kilometre road to any existing road.

They also discussed illegal occupation and unauthorized encroachments in Hawksbay area, particularly in the limits of Lyari Development Authority where illegal warehouses have sprung up. The officials also decided to shift the Mauripur truck stand to the Northern Bypass.

The meeting was attended by minister Agha Siraj Durrani, adviser Fazal-ur-Rehman, Sindh law secretary Syed Ghulam Nabi Shah, local government secretary Khursheed Naeem Malik, secretary to the CM Ahmed Bux Narejo.

with additional input from APP

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2011.