KARACHI: Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Saturday inaugurated the city’s first fruit and vegetable farm and an urban forest in the Aziz Bhatti Park.

Talking to the media after the inauguration of the farm, he said that a changing Karachi could be seen with the new projects.

He said that trees had also been planted in the park as tribute to the martyrs because public spaces should belong to the public.

Deputy Mayor Salman Murad and KMC officials were also present on this occasion.

Mayor critical of roadblocks ‘under guise of protests’

The mayor also said that the Malir Expressway would be opened to the public from Shah Faisal Colony to Qayyumabad in the next few days, and the remaining portion of the Baloch Colony Expressway would also be completed soon. “Work is also ongoing on the Korangi Causeway bridge”, he added.

The mayor said that during the meeting of TransKarachi on December 26, staff shortage issues were addressed.

He also said that he would advise Governor Kamran Tessori to guide MQM members to support the idea of heavy traffic on the Lyari Expressway as it would ease traffic congestion.

He highlighted the importance of regulating dumper trucks by the traffic department to prevent accidents, as many deaths occurred due to dumper-related incidents.

He said that the TransKarachi had assured him that the Red Line project would be completed as soon as possible.

The mayor also suggested that Jamaat-i-Islami’s (JI) funds should be audited and questioned as to where they get their money from, saying that if the JI was given the charge of water corporation, it would only benefit their areas.

He criticised the JI local government representatives for saying that they did not have funds while claiming that exemplary work was being done in their towns.

Referring to the sit-ins staged by the MWM, the mayor said that no one would be allowed to disturb the public under the guise of protests. He said that negotiations were ongoing with the protesters and that he had spoken with Minister Nasir Hussain Shah about it.

Barrister Wahab said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was responsible for Parachinar incident, but the people of Karachi and the Sindh government were suffering.

MWM takes exception to mayor criticism

Meanwhile, MWM leader Maulana Hasan Zafar took exception to the statement of the mayor, advising him not to speak the language of the establishment.

In a statement, he said that Mr Wahab did not say a word about the road closure of Parachinar for 80 days. “It is highly deplorable that 130 innocent children died due to road closure, but the mayor was not hurt,” he added.

The MWM leader said that the people of the city were more worried about the devastation of roads than the mayor’s concerns over road closures.

He said that the city had always been the centre of protest politics against the establishment and dictatorship. “The PPP leadership should take notice of Murtaza Wahab’s anti-people statements,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2024