THIS refers to two stories, ‘Murad seeks matching funds from centre for 24 Karachi projects’ and ‘Plan for uplift of Karachi reviewed’ (Sept 4). We are told Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has big plans for water supply schemes, sewerage and solid waste schemes, storm water drains, roads and mass transit.

The Sindh government will commit Rs802 billion and wants the federal government to provide an identical amount. The total amount will then be about Rs1,604 billion, which the chief minister and some of his ministers said were needed to make Karachi a modern city.

Prime Minister Imran Khan came to Karachi and announced a Rs1,100 billion package for Karachi’s uplift. Added together, the funds announced by the chief minister and the prime minister, exceed the former’s announced required sum by about 20 per cent.

As a long time citizen of Karachi, I am elated to hear about this cooperation between the provincial and federal governments. However, I am also a bit fearful about the possibility of corruption, ineptitude of the executing authorities and the non-availability or timely release of funds causing cost overruns.

There are many projects on the plate and I will take just one, mass transit, to illustrate how things can go wrong. We see that a lot of emphasis is being laid on the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR). Nobody is asking a relevant question: why was it discontinued?

Actually the number of commuters was not high enough because private transporters gave it a tough competition. KCR stations were far apart from each other and from the destinations of commuters.

While it is not possible to have a station every 500 metres, it is possible to make available some link transportation to the ultimate destination of the commuter. There should be a higher frequency of service during rush hours and less during non-rush hours.

This feature was missing in the earlier KCR version. The original KCR route was planned nearly 60 years ago. That may not be relevant to the situation today.

The KCR ticketing system should be kept simple and in accordance with the level of literacy of an average commuter instead of copying the most advanced systems in developed countries.

I hope by having a good mass transit system pollution will be reduced and there will be saving on fuel import which takes away a sizeable chunk of our foreign exchange. I look forward to Karachi becoming a liveable city rather than a modern city.

If executed with transparency, enormous as it may appear, this will be no charity for the people of Karachi. If we calculate the amount of taxes we have been paying over the years and compare it to what we have been getting in return, this package is peanuts.

Syed Arif Kazmi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2020