Karachi: What does the future hold for Hawkesbay truck stand?

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Gibran Ashraf
Proprietors of the transport business who have leased land in the Hawkesbay truck stand are apprehensive about reports regarding the relocation of the stand, The News has learnt.

Recent reports in the media highlighted that during a meeting with the Sindh governor, President Asif Ali Zardari had announced that the truck stand will be relocated to a different area. The land where the current stand exists will be utilised for the construction of a park and Lyari University, which will be spread over 1000 acres.

The land of the truck stand, located on Hawkesbay Road near PAF Masroor Base, was inaugurated in 1994, said Karachi Goods Carriers Association (KGCA) General Secretary Nadeem Akhtar Arain. He said that 100 acres were reserved for the stand, where 680 office spaces were leased out to transport proprietors.

The site plan map for the stand has designated spaces for a large dispensary, mosques, hotels, a post office and a fire brigade station. An additional 50 acres were reserved for parking of trucks and other heavy vehicles, along with spaces for mechanics and body makers, said Arain. However, none of these exist in reality, The News observed during a visit to the Stand.

When the old bus stand was moved from Gul Bai to its current location, the 50 acres that were supposed to be reserved for parking were never allotted. The executive office members of the KGCA alleged that the parking was usurped by the land mafia, which in turn forced the trucks to move into the main truck stand (where the booking offices are located).

Subsequently, scores of mechanics, body makers and painters all squeezed into the stand, and most of the trucks were forced to park on Hawkesbay Road. Interestingly, whenever the Traffic Police arrives with its tow trucks, the trucks move back into the premises of the stand, thus causing a blockage inside the stand.

The original 680 allotted plots have all been leased out, and multi-storeyed offices have been built at the land. Currently there are 500 registered members of the KGCA, while hundreds of other operators are without a membership of the Association within the premises. The owners of these offices claim to pay hefty amounts in income tax to the government, but are frustrated with recent news, claiming that they have had to move before when the old truck stand was finished to accommodate Lyari Expressway.

Arain said that the location of the stand had been made with a particular logic, and the associated projects worth billions of rupees were also put up. He said that transporters anticipated an increase in trade activities, given the expansion of the roads and communications network in the city.

Arain maintained that Karachi needed at least three truck stands: one near the port, one on the Northern By-Pass, and one on the Super Highway. He said that the Layari Expressway, and the Nothern Bypass were projects connected with the stand, and that truck stands across the world are located close to the port for efficient transportation of goods. He claimed that a 100-year plan had been submitted to the Planning commission and was discussed with the City District Government regarding truck yards to be built next to the National and Super highways.

The truck stand’s current location is close to the Port, the wharfs and container storage facilities and importantly, lies on the fringe of the city. It is close to Makran Coastal Highway, National Highway and Superhighway, and connects Karachi to the rest of Pakistan. It also plays an integral role in the Afghan/NATO transit trade.

The Northern Bypass and the soon-to-be-completed Lyari Expressway will allow trucks to cut across the city without being caught in or disturbing local traffic. However, the mismanagement of the truck stand’s construction and related facilities are a major cause of concern for those associated with this business centre.

The city government, along with the SITE Association and Karachi Port Trust, though directly associated, all disown the stand. Hawkesbay Road and the Lyari Mazaar Road, both in a dilapidated condition, continue to be a cause of major traffic jams near Gul Bai junction and the road leading up to the PAF Masroor Base. Little attempts have been made by the authorities concerned to pave the stand, or to construct streets inside the stand. The dispensary, along with the fire brigade and post office, are yet to be built. There are no still sewerage lines in the stand, which lends to the odour and sludge in the pathways.

Arain maintained that if the government wants to move the stand, they can do it overnight, but it is imperative to take into account factors such as increase in the cost of transportation, ensuring proper facilities at the truck stands, new or old.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=198755