Promenade at Manora to be opened in six weeks

The Sindh government is going to complete the construction of a promenade at the Manora beach of Karachi in the next six weeks to develop the island as a proper recreational beachfront for the people of the city.

This was stated by the newly appointed city administrator, Barrister Murtaza Wahab, as he visited the Manora beach on Sunday to review the work being carried out there to develop a beachfront.

The provincial government has been developing the Manora island beach through the Karachi Development Authority. Wahab, who is also the Sindh chief minister’s law adviser, said kiosks will be built along the promenade to provide refreshment facilities to beach-goers.

He said that a stairway will be built to provide easy access to the Manora beach, owing to the hilly terrain of the adjacent area. He said that a ramp will be built for wheelchair access to enable the differently-abled beach-goers to reach the shoreline.

Wahab, who is also the spokesman for the provincial government, said that differently-abled persons are an important part of society, so they should also be provided with healthy recreational facilities because it is their due right, along with that of other sections of society.

The Karachi administrator said that the work to build the Manora beach has been in progress for the past seven or eight months. He said the development of the Manora beach as a proper recreational spot will serve as the provincial government’s gift to the people of the city.

He said that the recreational spot will be formally inaugurated very soon. He also visited the Sandspit beach road that has improved road access to the Manora beach. Wahab said that the rebuilt road network and the improved law and order situation will enable the citizens of Karachi to visit beaches of the city without any issue.

He said the rebuilt road network has enabled beach-goers to reach Sandspit from the Merewether Clock Tower in just 20 minutes. He added that the Sindh CM has ordered the police to prevent all instances of street crime in the area.

‘No issue’

Separately, Wahab told the media that there is no issue at all for a person with a political background to be appointed as the city’s administrator.

He was talking to media persons while inaugurating the vaccination facility at the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park in Clifton that the provincial government has built in collaboration with the All Karachi Restaurants Association.

The city administrator said on the occasion that the provincial laws and the constitution of the country are fully adhered to in the making of decisions to appoint administrators of the municipal agencies of the province.

He said the Election Commission of Pakistan is responsible for holding local government elections in Sindh, but the polls can be held only when the issues of census results and delimitations are resolved.

Barrister Wahab said that it is wrong to assume that the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are being altogether lifted in Karachi, clarifying that they are instead being relaxed.