Sharjeel warns KE against showing slackness in shifting utility lines

Sindh Information and Transport Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon has warned the K-Electric against showing slackness in shifting its utility service lines for the execution of any development project of immense public importance.

He issued the warning while chairing a meeting on Wednesday to review progress on the shifting of service lines of different civic and utility agencies for making way to build the corridor of the under-construction Red Line section of the Bus Rapid Transit Service in Karachi.

Representatives of the K-Electric, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd, Sui Southern Gas Company and other civic agencies attended the meeting. The provincial information expressed serious resentment at the slow pace shown by the K-Electric to shift its utility lines for building the Red Line corridor.

Memon asked the KE officials to fulfil their obligations in this regard without any further delay in order to safeguard the legitimate public interests. He remarked that the Red Line service once completed would massively benefit the residents of Karachi, so no utility organisation could be allowed to show slackness on its part that could delay the launching of the forthcoming mass transit service in the city.

He asked the Sindh transport secretary, Karachi’s commissioner and the CEO of TransKarachi (the Sindh government’s company executing the Red Line project) to meet the chief executive officer of the K-Electric the very next day to get resolved issues hampering the shifting of the power utility lines from the route of the Red Line project.

Memon suggested to the KE to appoint a dedicated project manager for the construction of the Red Line corridor whose responsibilities include checking on a daily basis the process of the shifting of the power utility lines in order to swiftly complete this task.

He also asked the officials of the city administration to remove within seven days all the encroachments from the designated route of the project. He reiterated the stance of the Sindh government that projects aimed at the provision of improved and speedy transportation services to the people of the province were being executed in a speedy manner.

Memon told the officials of TransKarachi that alternative routes required for the movement of vehicular traffic during the construction of the Red Line corridor should be built in a better way to cause minimum inconvenience to the motorists. The meeting was attended by Karachi Commissioner Muhammad Iqbal Memon, Sindh Transport Secretary Abdul Haleem Sheikh and TransKarachi CEO Wasif Ijlal.

KE’s position

On a statement about the BRT Project in Karachi from the transport minister, a K-Electric spokesperson said, “K-Electric has been part of Karachi for over a century and as a responsible corporate citizen with deep ties with the city, the company fully supports projects of public interest.

For shifting of its network along the BRT Project, KE has sought from the city authorities the right-of-way permissions and cost of shifting of the electricity network. We aim to swiftly move on this as soon as requisite support is extended from the authorities concerned.”