KARACHI, Dec 5: City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has taken a serious notice of the land auction by the military and cantonments department to commercialize the two prime sites. The land measuring 16.35 acres is located near Capri Cinema on M.A. Jinnah Road, and the other land measuring 1800sq-yards is between the Karachi Zoological Garden and Maki Masjid, Garden.

According to the traffic and communication department officials, though both sites are the property of military and cantonment department, the city government is against the commercialization of the respective sites for traffic reasons.

The city government has requested the Ministry of Defence through formal channels for the cancellation of the land auction in the greater interest of Karachi, the officials said.

The M.A. Jinnah Road has been experiencing the highest traffic volumes at its section near Capri Cinema with various high travel demands. The commercialization of the land particularly on M.A. Jinnah Road would aggravate the traffic and transport situation in the vicinity, they added.

According to the city government, Saddar is already experiencing acute parking problems with virtually no space available for off-street parking purposes.

The city government is interested in purchasing the cantonment land on M.A. Jinnah Road, which is a potential site for construction of a multi-story parking lot, official sources said adding that the proposed parking lot will help in maintaining the smooth traffic flow on the major roads of Karachi, particularly M.A. Jinnah Road, and Saddar area.—Online