Dialogue on reshaping urban mobility

Islamabad:Participants of a 2-day dialogue on ‘Reshaping Urban Mobility in Islamabad’ were of the view that Zone-IV of Islamabad Capital Territory along with farms in H-9, according to Master Plan, was an area to act as food basket for Islamabadites.

The dialogue was organised by Institute of Urbanism (IU) here at Sangra Gali village in Haripur district. The speakers also stressed that Margalla Hills National Park (MNHP) was established under an Act of Parliament passed in 1979, where no settlements were allowed in the locality. Many participants also resented Army’s claim on grassland vacated by a restaurant established in the area with the blessings of Gen Musharraf saying that Parliament’s legislation over-rides any agreement between a provincial government and Capital Development Authority.

Dr Anees-ur-Rehman from Margalla Board said that there is need of legislation for KPK area adjacent to MHNP for being part of the park. Either the villages inside MHNP should be relocated or declared as model village, he opined.

He said that Margalla Board has no control on roads and need government support to enforce zoning resolutions. Dr Anees called for entry fee and establishing public transport including chairlift to commute tourists. Referring to a question, he said that 77 thousand square feet of land in the area behind Parade Ground in Shakarparian was carved out for using in parade area.

He said that CDA did not consider any planning for Zone 4 or model villages. He said that more than 20 per cent of greenery in Margalla Hills consists of unwanted species. He said that threats to Islamabad included solid waste and used food packaging. He said 13 ‘deg’ houses are operating at Bari Imam in which 3,000 tons of wood stolen from Margalla is burnt in these cooking pots.

Dr Anees said we asked a restaurant to decrease number of external lights to control light pollution. Referring to traffic jams on Pir Sohawa Road, he said that traffic line from Daman-e-Koh to Monal, can be handled by alternative route, even a tunnel is okay.

Shakeel Ramay, Executive Director, Zalmi Foundation, said that we can undertake development but not at the expense of environment. He said in Pakistan, focus is on urban areas and populace is migrating to cities. He said our railway transport was systematically killed.

Dr Ejaz Ahmad, former Director, WWF, said that air quality is also important. He said that protecting naturally occurring plantation is more beneficial than new plantation. He said that urbanisation in catchment area of Rawal

Lake is polluting the water in Korang nullah. He also regretted over eruption of encroaching set ups in Shakarparian area which is part of MHNP. He said that parking of vehicles is another issue of transport as well as constructing buildings. He suggested charging for parking vehicles and earmarking areas on some floor(s) of multi-storey buildings.

Mome Saleem, Executive Director, IU, said that urban development lacks research work and implementation. She said that urban planning depended upon how we organise our resources for urban development. She said that Minister of Climate Change did not finalise quality standards for controlling emissions, improving urban life and mobility in urban areas.

Dr Kamran Ahmad from NUST said that movement of people and goods from one area to the other for jobs and business call for safe and efficient transport system and roads. He said in doing so, attention should be paid to speed, comfort, convenience, economy and environment. Aneeqa Ashraf from PRIME Institute also spoke on the occasion.