Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that he has been working hard to rid Karachi of crime, encroachment and all sorts of mafias so that people of this beautiful city could lead peaceful and prosperous life. He said this speaking at the inauguration ceremony of Younisabad Bridge at Hawksbay Y-Junction on Monday. The bridge and its connecting roads have been constructed at a cost of Rs 219 million.
The function was attended by Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar, Commander Karachi Rear Admiral Farukh Ahmed, Metropolitan Commissioner Badar Jameel Mendhro, Project Director Niaz Soomro and other senior bureaucrats and representatives of the local bodies. Murad Shah said that the bridge was originally constructed in 1982, therefore its condition had gone deteriorated.
He said that many development schemes were launched under Rs 10 billion Karachi Package and he would allocate another RS10 billion in the next budget to make Karachi city beautiful.
"We have not only constructed the two-lane 378 metre bridge but have also constructed 2.14 kilometre approaching roads from the sides of Y-Junction and Manora," he said, adding that the bridge connects the city with Island of Manora.
The CM said that the people of the area had approached him to repair the road from Gul Bai to Younisabad Bridge. Then, he asked local government minister Jam Khan Shoro and Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar to plan the scheme and get the work started. He assured them he would provide funds as soon as the scheme is prepared.
Murad Shah said that he has personally seen the jetty of Baba Bhit. He said its condition was quite precarious and the KPT had to construct it but the work was suspended. He said that the deputy commissioner West on his instructions visited the site and reported him that there were some issues with the contractor which were settled now. He said that he had directed chief secretary Rizwan Memon to talk to the KPT authorities and get the work of jetty completed at the earliest.
"Jetty of Shams Pir was constructed in 1992 and now its condition is also very poor," he said, directing the Karachi mayor to begin its construction at the earliest and he would provide him necessary funds. He said that was an important jetty for the people of the area.
He also spoke on Rs 10 billion Karachi Package that initially had 21 schemes but when execution of the projects began, two of them were found unfeasible, therefore now 19 schemes were finalised.
"Some people have started criticising me that work has not been completed on these projects. Yeah! Completion will definitely take some time but I assure you that by the end of June the city will be giving a pleasant look," he said admitting that the pace of work on many projects was not as fast as he had visualised but even then they were in progress and he kept visiting them off and on to check pace and quality of the work.
Sindh CM said that work on widening and reconstruction of Shaarey Faisal has been started and it would change the view of the city. He said he would begin a scheme for uplifting of the road connecting with Jinnah Terminal.
He said that he, local government minister and the mayor had visited the city during recent rains.he said that rain water was disposing off smoothly. However, there are traffic jams because the most of the roads and their adjoining areas are dug up in connection with the development projects. He said that the most of the drains that are aimed at draining out rains water, have been cleansed and the encroachments along their embankments have been removed.
"We are here to serve the people of this city and God willing, this city will be counted as one of the clean and illuminated cities of the world," he hoped.
Murad Shah said that Karachi was the city of 250 million people, therefore, it has multiple problems and one of them was law and order. He said that with the support of Karachiites his Sindh government restored law and order. He said now a targeted operation against street crimes and drug mafia was launched that would also produce good results.
Sindh Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro and Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar also spoke and elaborated their efforts for the development of the port city.
Earlier, Murad Shah, along with Jam Khan Shoro and Waseem Akhtar performed launching ceremony of the Younisabad Bridge by unveiling the plaque.