News Desk |
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday, 30th March announced Rs.162 billion development package for the city of Karachi. The fund covers grants for 18 development projects all of which will be centered on priority subjects like transportation and water provision. Karachi, being the largest and most densely populated metropolis in the country has had severe transportation and water crises for decades.
The Prime Minister is on an official trip to Karachi and he was chairing a meeting of the Karachi Transformation Committee when he made this announcement. The premier announced that out of the 18 proposed projects, 10 are related to the development of the public transport network in the city. Seven other projects are related to the water and sewerage infrastructure.
The fund covers grants for 18 development projects all of which will be centered on priority subjects like transportation and water provision.
The PM laid stress on the importance of water conservation in Karachi. He condemned the fact that no plan to preserve water had been constituted by previous governments and urged the committee to devise a campaign to conserve the natural resource. “Due to hindrances in the development of Karachi, the entire state had suffered,” he said while criticizing the ruling provincial government of Sindh that it was their responsibility to fix the situation in Karachi.
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“We are well aware of the issues pertaining to the availability of potable water in the region,” he said, adding that water ‘conservation’ campaign was needed to save water. The premier also said that while a master plan for Karachi was absolutely necessary, an interim plan for the city should be put in place to address the pressing challenges that the metropolis is facing.
The Prime Minister is on an official trip to Karachi and he was chairing a meeting of the Karachi Transformation Committee when he made this announcement.
He promised that he will cooperate with provincial authorities in every way to ensure the development of Karachi, which, he said, was vital for the progress of the country. He also said that further horizontal expansion of the city must be stopped and the slum areas of the city should be developed. He also announced that the federal government would construct a university in Hyderabad, besides providing two mobile hospitals and four ambulances to Tharparkar.
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Later in the day, the prime minister inaugurated Bagh Ibne Qasim, where he stressed the importance of planting trees and “saving the green areas” in Karachi. He regretted that Karachi had become a “concrete slab”, and said the government will allow the construction of more high-rise buildings in the city in order to prevent them from expanding and taking over land that can be used to plant trees.
The premier pointed out that Pakistan was among the top 10 countries that were most vulnerable to climate change. “Our coming generations will never forgive us if we don’t save our green areas,” he warned. The premier also lauded Karachi’s Mayor Waseem Akhtar for “building and preserving” the Ibne Qasim park.