Karachi: Encroachments hindering developmental work: Nazim Gulshan Town

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Perwez Abdullah
“We have repeatedly removed encroachments in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, however the same people keep returning to the same areas with the collusion of the area police,” said Gulshan Town Nazim, Muhammad Wasay Jalil, while speaking to The News about illegal settlements opposite the main gate of the University of Karachi.

Jalil said that the Jhuggis (shanties) in Tayyeb Goth in Block 19, Gulistan-e-Jauhar serve as crime dens. According to him, residents of these shanties have DVD players and televisions, while their womenfolk wear gold ornaments and expensive clothes, but they still claim to be poor and occupy lands belonging to the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) and are meant for different amenity projects.

Offering a solution to this problem, Jalil asserted that the police should be recruited from the local populace so that they may be more aware of their jurisdictions. Through such a mechanism, the police would be more confident in weeding out encroachers and illegal settlements. He acknowledged the fact that private coaches had occupied the side street at Jauhar Chowrangi, but expressed his inability to remove them because the area was under the jurisdiction of Cantonment Board Faisal (CBF).

Meanwhile, the supply of running water remains one of the most neglected aspects of Gulshan Town. The town has spent Rs67.9 million in recent years for the supply of water to residents of the town, an outlay that was used in setting up a pumping station and new supply systems at Union Council (UC) 12 and UC 13. Goths such as Muhammad Khan Goth, Seeta Nagar, Sachal Goth, Bhittaiabad, Ayub Goth, Marora Goth, Rashdi Goth, and Bilal Shah Noorani Goth are under the jurisdiction of these UCs. A new water supply system that cost 10 million rupees has also been laid in UC 1 and UC 2 that includes Alamgir Road, Dawood Colony, Hyder Ali Road, Bihar Muslim Society, Dhoraji Colony and Chandni Chowk.

On the other hand, areas such as blocks 2, 3, 4 and 7 (partially) and 8 in Gulistan-e-Jauhar suffer from water shortages due to various reasons. For instance, Block 2 is situated on an area that is elevated, thus causing the shortage. Some areas face water shortages because of encroachers who open the valves of water pipelines for their own use, while in Block 4 (Workers Cooperative Housing Society) water from the pipelines is stolen by merchants who fill tanks perched on donkey carts.

Moreover, some places in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, such as Block 7, Safoora Chowrangi, Pehlwan Goth and adjoining areas, have roads with potholes, out-of-order street lights and makeshift houses that are encroaching upon the otherwise well-managed town. In addition, despite several campaigns, stray dogs continue to be the cause of increased instances of dog bites.

Apart from these issues, the town has witnessed several development works. While speaking about some of these changes in the town, Jalil explained that the town had an income of Rs1.27 billion from taxes and other resources. He added that Rs1.24 billion had already been spent on staff salaries, repairs and development projects, while the town has also spent Rs468 million on the construction and repair of roads and foot paths. Jalil claimed that roads in the town are state-of-art and the traffic now moves at a fast pace, thus reducing the commuting time for many.

In terms of cleanliness, the town generates more than 400 tons of garbage that is carried away to the land fill sites. The town has also arranged for more than 60 containers and 16 garbage dumps at different locations. Gulshan Town has an elaborate sanitary system, with 450 sanitary workers clean roads, streets and by-lanes. However, since the population of the town has increased up to 1.5 million due to the recent influx of people from upcountry, resources of the town have been stretched. As a result there has been a shortage of sanitary workers. The town administration has employed private companies for the sanitation work in UCs 3,6,9,10,11 and 12 to meet the shortage.

Jalil remains optimistic that despite unbridled and unmanaged population burst in the town, his administration will succeed in constructing more roads and ensuring maximum civic amenities to the town. “Our town has become a model for others and I intend to continue the good work,” said a determined Jalil.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=151921