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Tuesday March 19, 2024

‘600 more buses to ply Karachi’s road soon’

By our correspondents
February 22, 2017

Transport minister says new bus service being launched in view of the delay in completion of different sections of rapid bus transit service

The Sindh transport minister announced on Tuesday that a bus service was being launched in Karachi on an immediate basis in view of the delay in the completion of different sections of the rapid bus transit service.

Talking to reporters at the Sindh Secretariat, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said initially a fleet of 600 buses would be used for the new bus service.

He added that the bus service was being launched on the directives of Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who had told the provincial authorities to provide the best mass transportation facilities to the people of Karachi.

The minister said senior citizens and students would be provided with concession in the fare of the new service.

He said on the directives of the PPP chairman, people living on land reserved for building the Karachi Circular Railway would be compensated for vacating their homes.

The minister said new encroachments had emerged on the KCR land as anti-social elements had occupied additional areas hoping to gain more compensation money and benefits from the government. He added these people would be dealt with strictly.

Shah noted that a survey conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency had identified encroachments on the KCR land.

Last month, the chief minister had approved Rs45 million for the preparation of the KCR’s feasibility report and ordered the removal of encroachments on the scheme’s route so that work could be started on it under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.

Transport minister Nasir Shah had told the chief minister that the KCR project had a total length of 43 kilometres of which 13.43 kilometres were on main railway line and 29.69 kilometres on the KCR loop.

He added that he had visited the entire KCR route a day earlier and found encroachments along its route.

Railways Karachi divisional superintendent Nisar Memon told the chief minister that the total land required for the KCR project was 360 acres, of which 260 acres belonged to the Pakistan Railways and 100 acres were on the main line. He added that the encroached area was 67 acres, including 47 acres on the KCR loop and 20 acres on the main line.

He said 4,653 houses had been constructed on the encroached land and there were 2,997 other establishments.  Around 20 percent right of way of the KCR was encroached upon. The Railways official said the project could only be started if the encroachments were removed from its route.

 

KCR loop

Giving details of the encroachments on the KCR loop, he said 29.28 acres were encroached upon at the Wazir Mansion, 0.82 acres from Wazir Mansion to Baldia, 1.91 acres near Orangi nullah, 1.44 acres from Orangi to Nazimabad, 2.36 acres from Nazimabad to Liaquatabad, 3.16 acres from Liaquatabad to Jillani Station, 2.05 acres from the Jillani Station to the Urdu College, 4.16 acres from the Urdu College to the University, and 0.91 acres from the University to the Depot Hill. The encroachments on the KCR main line are spread around 20.647 acres.