Road from Fishermen Chowrangi to Fishing Village inaugurated

Karachi, January 05, 2021 (PPI-OT): Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the federal government has imposed a controversial census on Sindh but “I am surprised that the so-called owners of Karachi, MQM are sitting in the federal government which has launched anti-Karachi policies.”

This he said while addressing the inauguration ceremony of 4.9 km Road from Fisherman Chowrangi to Ibrahim Hyderi organized at the Chowrangi on Tuesday. The ceremony was attended by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Provincial ministers, Saeed Ghani, Nasir Shah, Shahla Raza, Murtaza Wahab, MNA and MPAs of the area, party leaders and workers and chairman P and D Mohamamd Wasee, Commissioner Karachi Naveed Shaikh, Administrator KMC Laiq Ahmed, PD of the project Asghar Memon and others.

PPP Chairman said that the MQM was in the coalition of PTI government which has approved controversial Census but except a lip service the MQM maintained mysterious silence. “If a genuine census is conducted the people of the province would be able to get their rights in NFC, employment opportunities in federal government and its agencies,” he said and added but the MQM was silent.

The islands of our fishermen have been taken away by the federal government but again the MQM kept silent, Bilawal Bhutto said and went on saying the federal government has usurped the financial rights of people of the province but the MQM was silent- the federal government has refused to contribute in the development of Karachi which generates more than 60 percent national revenue but MQM was silent,” he said.

The Chairman PPP said that the federal government was in power because of the votes of MQM which they have bagged from Karachi but they were not doing justice with the people of this city. The chairman said that the ordinance passed to take over the islands of the province has lapsed, therefore the fishermen who sail to the islands in search their livelihood should not be stopped. He urged Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to talk to the concerned agencies and tell them not to harass the fishermen, the real owners of the islands.

The chairman lauded the Sindh government which has started development endeavours in the city and hoped this initiative would make the city of Karachi one of the kist beautiful cities of the world. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah speaking on the occasion said that this segment of the dual carriageway, from Fishermen Chowrangi to Ibrahim Haidri was selected due to its highly dilapidated condition. “The median was full of garbage and water was drained on the road,” he said and added that in the segment-II there was an eight-meter- wide road connecting to Ibrahim Hyderi Goth through a flat segment. This stretch of about 526 meters was hilly, having high slopes, therefore, impassable by vehicles.

Mr Shah said that another stretch of 1.3 km was available to access the village in a very bad state not fit for vehicle movement specially loaded trucks originating from Fishing Village. He added that the termination point of the road was very abrupt therefore, the 550-meter additional length was technically considered important to be included to reasonably use the access. The project started on 25th July 2019.

Murad Ali Shah said that the Fishermen area was selected due to dense and vulnerable populations all-around all along the length of the sub-project where an old fishing village, Ibrahim Hyderi was located that has no infrastructure. He added that the area-block has a population of around.400,000 comprising low to middle-income people having small houses and apartments having small streets. “The access through the road was almost non-existing due to poor carriageway conditions though the main collector corridor was available however, the right of way was very badly maintained,” he said and added “the rains had destroyed the surfaces below the wearing surfaces and the condition of water supply, sewerage, and storm-water infrastructure was almost incapable to serve the area and keep the road in properly maintained condition.”

Talking about Karachi Neighbourhood Improvement Project (KNIP), Mr Shah said that a rapid assessment was conducted by the World Bank in 2014 called Karachi City Diagnostic (KCD) to identify gaps in various municipal and other services provided to the city. He added that according to the findings of the study, the urban environment in Karachi, including the quality of its public spaces has been declining, along with infrastructure provision. “Roads in Karachi lack basic safety features and are not regularly maintained which reduce accessibility and mobility, particularly for women, the elderly, and people with disabilities,” he said.

The chief minister said that the KCD estimated that at least US$ 10 billion would be needed in the next 10 years to close the city’s infrastructure gaps and transform Karachi into a liveable city and it could not be achieved through any single project or intervention. He added: as a result, KNIP emerged to focus on fast, low cost and high impact interventions to respond to emergent city needs.

He said that it was a four-year project started in 2017 by the Sindh government with the support of World Bank at a cost of $ 98 million in which WB financed $ 86 million and $ 12 million were being shared by Sindh government.

The CM said that under the project, three neighbourhoods, Saddar, Malir and Korangi of the city were being upgraded. Recently, Saddar part, People’s Square of Phase-I has been inaugurated and Korangi part has been inaugurated by the chairman today (Tuesday). However, Malir part is being made ready for inauguration.

Project Information: According to the Murad Ali Shah the existing Roundabout has been developed as Public space, dual Carriageway, median, linear park and streets. Intersection design, Street lights, bus bays have also been constructed. A well-designed single carriageway has been constructed by making the slopes gentle for the vehicles to access Ibrahim Hyderi village. Improve pedestrian safety with appropriate mid‐block crossings, junction crossings, LED Lighting, road‐calming features speak louder about the project.

Project: Initial 3.25 km road, asphalt binder and wearing course along with footpaths, water line works, storm-water drains, electrical works, and landscaping of the median has been reconstructed to give excellent riding service for vehicles and to secure the pedestrian movement along the roadside. The central median is equipped with landscape elements, secured trees, paver floors to avoid any accumulation of solid waste and for the public to enjoy the facility without much care on maintenance.

Cutting of hard rock to get a negotiable gradient for the design truck and supporting the cutting slopes with RCC retaining walls on both sides (175-meter-long) of the Box cut resulted due to this cutting of rock. The retaining walls are backfilled, and footpaths were constructed for the residents for ease of access to their properties. The extended length of 550 meters to give the project a smooth transition from a very high level of service to almost nothing.

Open Spaces: Fishermen Roundabout (old Coastguard roundabout) has a dia of 82 meters and with all included the length of it becomes 258 meters. Landscape improvement for Chowrangi, public spaces, and median includes an 8.5-meter-long boat model, installation of Gazebos, monuments, and planters.

Water Supply: The chief minister said that one of the best activities undertaken was to manage the best network for water supply. The water supply system was redesigned and planned in a way to save it from punctures and managing to provide main and sub-main supply lines on both sides by removing the main water distribution from the center of the road where it was found damaged all along the length. The pipeline has been provided with proper planning and coordination. High-Density Polyethylene pipe is used for drinking water supply lines that is. 400 mm dia starting from about 1.8 km.

Storm-water Drainage: Mr Shah said that a need to dispose of the storm-water into the natural drains was ascertained, therefore, a 500-meter-long storm-water drain has been constructed to smoothly drain out the rainwater. It will ensure that about two -km of the road on both sides will get efficient drainage whereas the rest will be drained out on the other side of the road as per the natural gradient. For this purpose, an eight inches and 24 inches diameter pipes with Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) chambers were installed to control the flow.

As a result, water, an agent to destroy the road will never be hazardous for this segment of the road. It also got tested in the flooding of August 2020 and has resulted in an efficient and sustainable solution to the rainwater. RCC drain at Fishermen Chowrangi on the circumference to drain out the heavy water accumulated due to high-density drainage lines passing under the Chowrangi. The length of the drain is 240 meters and circular in shape.

Sewerage: The sewerage network was unserviceable and required complete retrofitting and now the brand- new network has been placed which will drain out all the sewerage to the city grand sewer network. Some trunk sewer networks required some cleansing which was also done to keep the flow efficient and stop any backflow.

A Tree Protection and Management Plan has also been prepared to protect trees. Trees were counted at the site and all information is provided in the shape of a report. There are approx. 220 trees above two-meter height which have been saved.

Social and Gender Benefits: The well-designed public spaces will provide a very conducive environment for social interaction not only to the residents but also to the visitors, the chief minister said and added: Gender integration is a compulsory element in all KNIP initiatives through a Gender Action plan (GAP) to increase women participation and to provide maximum benefits of the project to women and vulnerable groups. Those who spoke on the occasion include Minister Local Government Nasir Shah, Minister Labour Saeed Ghani, local MNA and MPA, Chairman P and D Mohammad Waseem and others.

For more information, contact:
Press Secretary,
Chief Minister House, Sindh
Tel: +92-21-99202019(Ext: 336)
Website: www.cmsindh.gov.pk