Residents of houses on Kidney Hill Park told to vacate in three days

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) anti-encroachment department has given a three-day notice to bungalows built on the land of the Kidney Hill Park before an anti-encroachment operation.

The notice was issued on Friday. In the meantime, the corporation also started marking encroachments surrounding the Gujjar Nullah. KMC Anti-Encroachment Senior Director Bashir Siddiqui and others visited the park on the directives of the KMC administrator on Friday and asked the residents of the bungalows to vacate their residential structures in three days.

Meanwhile, on the directives of the Supreme Court, Siddiqui said two two-storey buildings had been razed on the Manzoor Colony Nullah on Friday. “The buildings are being demolished with care, so that nearby structures don’t suffer any damage,” he explained, adding that 80 per cent of the encroachments on both sides of the drain had been cleared.

In District Central, action was taken on Friday against encroachments in the Ghareebabad area in Liaquatabad. Several tea shops, hotels and kiosks were removed from footpaths and roads. Stoves, iron grills, stairs, chairs and tables of hotels were also confiscated.

Explaining how encroachments were being marked on the Gujjar Nullah in District Central, Siddiqui said the Gujjar Nullah was a natural drain in the city that flowed from New Karachi to Chona Depot in Haji Mureed Goth, where it fell into the Lyari River.

The nullah crosses Rashid Minhas Road at Shafiq Morr and goes towards Café Piyala Hotel, all the way to Ziauddin Hospital before it falls into the Lyari River.

The corporation so far has marked nearly 1,100 houses on either side of the storm water drain. The KMC’s anti-encroachment department will start demolishing these structures after completing work on the Manzoor Colony drain.

KMC to revamp Sharea Faisal The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) will revamp Sharea Faisal and the areas surrounding Jinnah International Airport.

Administrator KMC Laeeq Ahmed directed officials on Friday to make cleanliness arrangements on Sharea Faisal and the area surrounding the city’s airport. He said that these areas were the first glimpse of the city for foreigners.

The airport’s surrounding areas were made wonderful for the visitors around the world, he said, adding that Karachi was the face of Pakistan and there was need for a lot work for betterment of the city in a limited time.

The administrator passed these remarks while visiting Sharea Faisal, Nathakhan Bridge, Drig Road and the adjacent areas of Jinnah International Airport Karachi.

Director General Works Syed Shabeeh-ul-Hassan Zaidi, Director General Parks Taha Saleem and other officials were also present on the occasion. The administrator directed the officials concerned to make street lights functional on Sharea Faisal and other localities for the convenience of commuters.

He also passed directives for the removal of all sorts of advertisement boards and political parties’ flags. “The trimming of trees should also be done for further beautification of the city. Seasonal plants, including of marigold, should be planted in greenbelts,” he said.

Ahmed said dignitaries of different countries were coming to Karachi for participating in programmes on February 5, and it was important to give them a good image of the city. In a briefing, the administrator was told that 250 lights had been installed from Drigh Road to Sharea Faisal, out of which 200 lights had been made functional, while the remaining would be lit up within three days. Ahmed directed the works and services director to repair footpath, besides graveyards near the airport on Sharea Faisal, as people visiting the cemetery were facing hardships.