Slow pace of work on Korangi Crossing flyover badly affecting businesses, residents

The aim is to ease traffic congestion on Korangi Road, but the slow pace of work on the Korangi crossing flyover, started by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), is causing business shrinkage. 

The construction of the project had started last year in November and officials had then said it would be completed in 10 months. However, much work remains to be done and shopkeepers and residents on both sides of this important road are suffering. 

Shopkeepers complain that their incomes have fallen by over 50 percent since work on the flyover started earlier this year as few customers now come to their shops.

“This seems to have become a standard operating now. The government initiates many projects like flyovers and overhead bridges, but they are never completed on time due to an extremely slow pace of work. The resulting delays cause problems for the dwellers and traders in that area,” says Mohammad Hafeez, who runs a sanitary ware shop along the road.

Akbar Khan, owner of a general store, says: “My shop is on the main road and I am facing a great loss from falling sales because some of my regular customers have switched over to other areas due to the frequent traffic diversions.” 

A rickshaw driver, Lateef Ahmed, is also unhappy with the mess the area is in. He says that he takes passengers, mostly students and teachers of universities located in places near the PAF base and Ibrahim Hyderi, but because o f the construction work he has to take a long route. “And that’s not all. Passengers don’t pay the fare for the long route.”

A restaurant on one side of the road has closed after customers stopped coming due to dusty conditions in the area. The owner of a nearby cabin says that the owner of the restaurant was totally helpless, with dust flying in the air and motorists getting caught in massive snarl-ups and blocking access to his restaurant.

The affected residents and traders have appeared to the authorities to ensure the completion of the flyover at the earliest and spare them further mental agony and losses.