Karachi Administrator Iftikhar Ali Shallwani has expressed dissatisfaction over the conditions of roads and footpaths, and ordered that footpaths should also be revamped as part of the construction of roads under development projects.
Shallwani presided over a meeting of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) engineering department on Saturday. “Contractors will not be paid in full until the completion of the entire work,” he warned.
“The engineers concerned should update the department with pictures and dates. Work on the pending projects should be expedited and completed at the earliest,” he stressed. Director General Technical Services Iqtidar Ahmed, Senior Director Coordination Masood Alam, all the chief engineers and other officials were also present on the occasion. The ongoing projects were reviewed in the meeting, and the chief engineers briefed everyone about the pace of work in their respective jurisdictions. The administrator told the meeting that he would visit every site himself to check the standard and material being used in the construction of roads.
Issuing policy guidelines for roads’ development, he said that besides the construction of roads, footpaths must also be revamped as well as street lights, manhole covers and signboards inscribed with the area’s name should also be installed. “Twelve-foot-long signboards should be installed at every road’s entry and exit points.”
Shallwani said that debris should be removed soon after the completion of the works so that the people do not face any hardship. He directed the chief engineers to complete the works at the earliest. “The Sindh government will be requested to release the required funds for their timely completion.”