Karachi Joining The Club Of Modern Cities

As a metropolitan city alongwith social, economic and industrial hub of Pakistan, Karachi continues to attain the height where it has come at par with other mega cosmopolitan societies and has reached the level where it is about to join the club of the emerging modern cities around the globe.

Karachi which is known as mini-Pakistan has started giving an absolutely different look with the fast emerging high rises, wide and clean roads, attractive traffic intersections, over-head bridges and flyovers. In fact the entire city is virtually being rebuilt on the modern lines.

A preliminary look at the ongoing projects gives a feeling to the onlookers that Karachi will have the most attractive infrastructure in conformity to the other modern and industrial cities of the world within next two years, which would induce a home-like comforts to the foreign investors besides giving a sense of pride to the local investors.

The year 2003 and 2004 can be described as a historic chapter in Karachi's history during which over 156 huge projects of economic significance including Mass Transit Program, flyovers, bridges, elevated and underpass roads, water supply schemes, sewerage system, bypass and highways were launched.

"President General Pervez Musharraf is taking his personal interest in the development projects of Karachi," said Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, EDO City District Government Karachi, (CDGK) while talking to PAGE.

He said that one can foresee the future of Karachi in the shadows of the coming events. These worthwhile efforts for rebuilding infrastructure for the neglected Karachi also comprised of more than 24 small and medium dams being developed in the suburbs of Karachi with the financial and technical assistance of the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

"No stone was left unturned to make the dream of a modern Karachi into a reality. Apart from WB, ADB, the multi-national companies doing business in Karachi were also approached to assist the city government in carrying out Ta'ameer-e-Karachi Program, Annual Development Plan and Drought Emergency Relief Assistance Program (DERAP) successfully. The government entities which are spending billions of rupees and extending assistance of their professional skill to accomplish the task are including Pakistan Steel Mills (PASMIC), Port Qasim Authority (PQA), Export Promotion Zone Authority (EPZA), Pakistan International Airlines, (PIA), National Logistic Cell (NLC), Military Land and Cantonment Boards (MLCB), Sindh Industrial Trade Estate (SITE), Pakistan Railway (PR), Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Defense Housing Authority (DHA), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Muslim Commercial Bank, (MCB), Ministry of Works, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and National Highway Authority.

On top of that, the CDGK has first time in the history of Karachi, awarded a Master Plan of Karachi project to a world class consultants group.

The master plan will meet all the requirements of growing population till 2030. For this purpose, the CDGK has established a separate department which is operating in close association of the highly professional consultants. Among these pre-qualified consultants 27 are of world repute, 44 "A" category contractors qualified for the projects.

Following are the ongoing projects under Ta'ameer-e-Karachi Program which would give new blood to the Karachi's infrastructure. FTC flyover at Shahra-e-Faisal is being constructed with the cost of Rs. 109.41 million and 94% work has been completed. Another flyover being constructed at the Shahra-e-Faisal to Shahra-e-Quaideen with the cost of Rs. 109.67 million and 52% work has been completed. Tenders have been invited for the construction of a biggest ever flyover at Sohrab Goth with the cost of Rs. 413.24 million. Moreover tenders for PIDC Bridge have been opened and are under scrutiny for the widening of the bridge. Tenders have been invited for FTC underpass. Hawksbay Road from Grex village to Nazim Office Gubaput is being constructed and widened with the cost of Rs. 21.26 million. Within a week or so tenders would be awarded for Karsaz flyover at the main Shahra-e-Faisal. Mauripur Road, Allama Rashid, Turabi Road, Nazimabad Road from Dawood Chowrangi to Gulberg Chowrangi, Malir and Landhi are also being constructed with the cost of Rs. 48.00 million. Shahra-e-Orangi which connects the larges residential township of the Asia to the center of city is also being constructed with the cost of Rs. 173.00 million Nishtar, "Road 5000" in Surjani Town, Jahangir Road, Siddique Wahab Road, Rashid Minhas Road, Korangi Road are being constructed and improved within the city with the cost of Rs. 960.060 million.

One of the most important flyover connecting the hub of business center I. I. Chundrigar Road to Molvi Tameezuddin Khan Road PIDC is also underway. Whereas a projet of a signal free flyover from Metropole intersection to FTC flyover has been awarded to the AA Associate for designing.

Designing process is now on final touches of overpass/underpass PIDC intersection on Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road. There are 19 other flyovers in Malir, Orangi Township, Mahmoodabad, Chanesar Goth.

There are 723 more schemes from 18 Union councils of roads, water management, sewerage and treatment plants. These projects will cost Rs. 10710.080 million.

SITE union council has proposed 46 projects, Shah Faisal town has 19, Saddar Town 21, Orangi Town 24, North Nazimabad 28, Malir 24, North Karachi 61, Lyari 89, Liaquatabad 16, Landhi 89, Korangi 61, Keamari 85, Jamshed Town 31, Gulberg 33, Gadap 7, Bin Qasim 18 and Baldia Township 62.

http://www.pakistaneconomist.com/page/c-issue/i&e5.htm

Karachi, that was declared the capital of the state upon creation of Pakistan, used to be neat, clean, quite and a place of interest for tourists. There was a time when the downtown of Karachi like Sadar, Tower and then Bohri Bazar reflected a wonderful image of an international city as the market places were found to be busy with foreign tourists. Even Iranis, Bahais, Chinese and Afghanis were running the businesses side by side with locals. The environment, transport, roads and other basic necessities were incredible. The neat and clean parks, dirt-free water, uninterrupted electricity, wide gleaming roads, excellent public transport facilities like trams, beautifully decorated buggies, old style American & European taxis, colourful double-decker buses had kept this city at par with any modern city in the world. The friendly and pleasant shop-keepers, drivers and workers communicating in local and English languages found serving locals and tourists in a well professional manner. Even weather used to be cloudy like Europe. No political fighting, no ethnic violence, no sectarian killings, no bomb blasts, no looting and shooting. Thus, Karachi used to be a best and beautiful place to live in Asia.

Today, Karachi possesses a depressing disposition in the world. No international celebrity, artists or players willing to visit Karachi. A city that produced world-class superstar cricketers like Hanif brothers, Asif Iqbal, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miadad, Mohsin Khan is now thrusting to have a single game. Most of the Western teams refuse to play in Karachi.

As the time passed by; the other metro and cosmopolitan cities in the region like Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur - which at one stage following Karachi are now far ahead of Karachi. Today, these cities possess all sorts of modern facilities for their citizens and visitors are the central attraction for local and foreign investors and are the symbols of pride for their respective states, whereas Karachi instead of moving forward went backward.

The current ruler of Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf in fact belongs to this unfortunate city. So, one expects that President Musharraf would understand and would be aware of all sorts of ignorance, misconducts and problems this city has seen in the last 4 decades.

Karachi, that was declared the capital of the state upon creation of Pakistan, used to be neat, clean, quite and a place of interest for tourists. There was a time when the downtown of Karachi like Sadar, Tower and then Bohri Bazar reflected a wonderful image of an international city as the market places were found to be busy with foreign tourists. Even Iranis, Bahais, Chinese and Afghanis were running the businesses side by side with locals. The environment, transport, roads and other basic necessities were incredible. The neat and clean parks, dirt-free water, uninterrupted electricity, wide gleaming roads, excellent public transport facilities like trams, beautifully decorated buggies, old style American & European taxis, colourful double-decker buses had kept this city at par with any modern city in the world. The friendly and pleasant shop-keepers, drivers and workers communicating in local and English languages found serving locals and tourists in a well professional manner. Even weather used to be cloudy like Europe. No political fighting, no ethnic violence, no sectarian killings, no bomb blasts, no looting and shooting. Thus, Karachi used to be a best and beautiful place to live in Asia.

Today, Karachi possesses a depressing disposition in the world. No international celebrity, artists or players willing to visit Karachi. A city that produced world-class superstar cricketers like Hanif brothers, Asif Iqbal, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miadad, Mohsin Khan is now thrusting to have a single game. Most of the Western teams refuse to play in Karachi.

As the time passed by; the other metro and cosmopolitan cities in the region like Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur - which at one stage following Karachi are now far ahead of Karachi. Today, these cities possess all sorts of modern facilities for their citizens and visitors are the central attraction for local and foreign investors and are the symbols of pride for their respective states, whereas Karachi instead of moving forward went backward.

The current ruler of Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf in fact belongs to this unfortunate city. So, one expects that President Musharraf would understand and would be aware of all sorts of ignorance, misconducts and problems this city has seen in the last 4 decades.

that is indeed a rather sad story. on the flipside, things are very slowly but surely moving in the right direction now i think.

if zia didnt become priesident karachi would have been were honk kong is now.

Zees, where's the rest of the article?

I read the same article (I think it was printed in an Israeli Daily) and it also mentioned that in the past alcohol was freely available in the top hotels as well lap dancers.

Aziz

Zees, where's the rest of the article?

I read the same article (I think it was printed in an Israeli Daily) and it also mentioned that in the past alcohol was freely available in the top hotels as well lap dancers.

Aziz
alcohol is still freely available in the top hotels ... dont think the lap dancers ever were.

alcohol is freely availble in top stores in karachi and lahore now is well.

alchohol is freely available just abt every where, if you're a determined man. Over 48 people died in Multan within a week from consuming poisonous alcohol, for cryin' out loud. And they were all un-skilled poor labour. What does that tell you?

Well the original article clearly states that lapdancers or alike used to attend hotels.

Aziz

Well the original article clearly states that lapdancers or alike used to attend hotels.
Well, Aziz first of all this article is not published in israel daily and in this article there is nothing such written about Alcohol and lap dancers, and i didn't wrote the whole article because i dont think it is important here for this topic. Click here for complete articlehttp://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/3820

Historic Karachi

The area that now consists of Karachi was originally a group of small villages including Kalachi-jo-Kun and the fort of Manora. Any history of Karachi prior to the 19th century is sketchy. It is said that the city called Krokola from which one of Alexander the Great's admirals sailed at the end of his conquests was the same as Karachi. When Muhammad bin Qasim came to India in the year 712 he captured the city of Debul. It has been said that Debal was the ancestral village of present day Karachi. However, this has neither been proven or disproven.

It was in 1729 that Kolachi-jo-Goth was transformed from a fishing village to a trading post when it was selected as a port for trade with Muscat and Bahrain. In the following years a fort was built and cannons brought in from Muscat were mounted on it. The fort had two doorways, one facing the sea called the Khara Darwaza or Brackish Gate and one facing the River Lyari called the Meetha Darwaza or Sweet Gate. In 1795 the city passed from the Khan of Kalat to the Talpur rulers of Sindh.

Karachi gained in position as a major port and rapidly developed as an important city. The importance of the Indus and Sindh led the British to capture the city on the 3rd of February 1839 starting an era of foreign rule and colonial subjugation that was to end in 1947. A famous quote about Karachi attributed to Charles Napier is "Would that I could come again to see you in your grandeur!". Napier's quote proved almost prophetic as it was under the British raj that Karachi would grow as its harbour was developed. On the 10th of September 1857 the 21st Native Infantry stationed in Karachi declared allegiance to the Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and joined the cause of the War of Independence of 1857. The uprising was defeated by the British who reasserted their control within a matter of days.

In 1876, the founder of Pakistan Muhammed Ali Jinnah was born in the city, and he would later be buried there. By this time Karachi was a city with railroads, churches, paved streets, courts and many commercial centres as well as a magnificent harbour built by the British. Many of the buildings were built in classical British colonial style, contrasting significantly with the "Mughal Gothic" of Lahore. Many of these old buildings exist today and provide interesting destinations for visitors.

Karachi continued to grow in size as well as importance due to its position as a major port. A railroad connected Karachi to the rest of British India in the 1880s. In 1899 Karachi was said to be the largest wheat exporting port in the East (Feldman 1970:57). In 1911 when the capital was shifted to Delhi, Karachi became closer to being a Gateway to India. Karachi was declared the capital of the newly formed Sindh province in 1936, chosen over the traditional capital of Hyderabad.

In 1947, Karachi was made the capital of the new nation of Pakistan. At that time Karachi was a city of only 400,000 people, and its growth accelerated as a result of its new status. Being the capital, Karachi became a focal point for the new nation and this added to its status as a cultural centre in this part of the world. Although the capital later moved to Rawalpindi and then Islamabad, Karachi remains the economic centre of Pakistan, accounting for a large portion of the GNP of the nation and a large chunk of the nations white collar workers.

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/305.jpg
DJ Science College, Karachi (1930)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/306.jpg
Keamari, Karachi (1930)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/307.jpg
Elphinstone Street, Karachi (1930)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/308.jpg
Frere Hall, Karachi (1918)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/309.jpg
Karachi Port Trust (1918)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/310.jpg
Clifton, Karachi (1930)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/316.jpg
Elphinstone Street, Karachi (1930)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/317.jpg
Gandhi Gardens, Karachi (1930)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/318.jpg
City Tram, Karachi (1930)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/319.jpg
Karachi Airport (1930)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/320.jpg
Sindh Club, Karachi (1930)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/377.jpg
Bohree Bazaar, Karachi (1918)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/378.jpg
Empress Market, Karachi (1918)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/379.jpg
Star Cinema House, Karachi (1918)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/485.jpg
Independence Day (August 14th 1947)

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/486.jpg
Manora Barracks, Karachi (Date Not Known)

An interesting link - A great city as its always been.

I wish they had kept the tram alive...

I wish they kept it like this! I mean seriously look at it, perfect roads, perfect transport system .. recretional facilities ETC.

Damn Karachi was good.

< sigh > I miss those days :(

:D

Karachi Project Websites

http://www.karachicity.gov.pk (City of Karachi)
http://www.dhakarachi.com.pk (Defence Housing)
http://www.creekcity.net (Creek City)

Karachi was going to become something big...what happened?

yeah but Karachi had a much smaller population then

Then

http://photos3.worldisround.com/photos/8/176/308.jpg

Now
http://www.pakcafe.com/pakistanpics/karachi/frere%20hall.gif

Add this to KARACHI!

Dont know about Lap Dances, but we have excellent Lebanese Dances :D

Alcohol .. jeez its not a big issue in Karachi

I have heard the masterplanning of Karachi has been handed over to some foreign companies. A lot of news items here and there have also been appearing in the newspapers which indicate that masterplanning for the city of Karachi probably is going on. But nobody knows the details. Anybody have any information on which firms it has been handed over to or when it is scheduled to be completed by?

These are the good times for Pakistan," said the Cathay Pacific manager in Los Angeles, who is originally from Karachi. Decades of neglect are being compensated (and in some cases overcompensated) by the government of President Pervez Musharraf. Investment is pouring in from countries in the Persian Gulf, from India, and especially from China.


Megacities with populations larger than entire countries are changing the physical and economic landscape of the globe. Megacities have economic engines that are powering the future of the world. Megacities have larger markets than many developed countries.

The megacities are coming. They are the future. They are here now.

Karachi, Pakistan's, population of 14 million is augmented by an equal number of people in nearby satellite towns. The Karachi area has more people than Canada and an airport smaller than modest U.S. towns such as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Indianapolis, Indiana, or Tallahassee, Florida.


A Quick Quiz
Landing in Karachi today is the economic equivalent of visiting a huge spaceship moments before blastoff. You can feel the engines rumbling, the ground shaking, and you only have a few seconds to either jump off or be rocketed into the stratosphere.

What city has the fastest growing stock market in the world? Karachi.

What English language high school consistently tops out the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores? Karachi Grammar School.

What country has the fastest growing cell phone market? Pakistan.

The statistics go on and on.

Reading statistics is no substitute for seeing a place. So I stuffed my American preconceptions into a suitcase and headed out from Seattle.

Good Times
"These are the good times for Pakistan," said the Cathay Pacific manager in Los Angeles, who is originally from Karachi. Decades of neglect are being compensated (and in some cases overcompensated) by the government of President Pervez Musharraf. Investment is pouring in from countries in the Persian Gulf, from India, and especially from China.

China is building a massive port in a Karachi suburb that sits at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. China sees Pakistan as a means to expand its market presence throughout the region.

Only U.S. firms, burdened by preconceptions, are holding back. American firms are afraid to even market computer hardware and software to a rapidly expanding market that is flush with cash and ready to spend.

Indian IT firms are gradually moving in because their own software economy has experienced labor shortages and price increases. Pakistan is 30 percent cheaper than India for information technology outsourcing. According to Karachi-based Alt-Source Communications, Karachi alone has 300,000 English-speaking job seekers in the 18 to 35 year old range who are interested in and qualified for call center work.

Arriving in Karachi
The plane touches down in Karachi in the middle of the night. The fashions here are different than the U.S., but the people are warm, friendly and surprisingly gentle. In Indian airports, it is a struggle to keep control of your baggage. Here nobody bothers me.

My government-supplied escorts are noticeably absent. Strike one. After half an hour of waiting, I hop in a cab and go to the hotel where my government tour planners had assured me a room. Strike two -- with lots more to come. If this happens to you, take it in stride. The private sector is where the action is.

The government here is remarkably hands-off -- perhaps a little too hands off. In India, when there is a problem, the government will often become involved in a major way. In Pakistan, the reaction is often for government to pull back or to engage in negotiations with disaffected groups.

Expo Pakistan 2005
I'm here to attend a national export-oriented trade show from February 2 through February 6 and then to screen software and call center facilities for possible outsourcing contracts from the U.S. Expo Pakistan 2005 is a big deal here because large international trade fairs do not happen very often in this country. I happened to be passing through here when the last one was held, 35 years ago.

The Pakistanis don't need to look very far to see how trade shows can function if they are done well. In New Delhi there are 10 to 12 major trade shows every year for IT firms, with other metro regions hosting their own lavish displays. Trade shows are a well-developed industry in India and the Indians are good at organizing them.

The ultimate intellectual trade show is India's Kolkata Book Fair. It is held in February every year, with specially constructed temporary buildings brimming with rare titles and stampeding crowds of intellectuals for whom the book fair is the ultimate literary pilgrimage. Who needs Stratford-on-Avon when the Kolkata Book Fair beckons?

A Tale of Two Cities
Comparisons between Kolkata and Karachi are inevitable. As megacities of similar size straddling opposite sides of the Indian subcontinent, they have both been languishing in economic obscurity until now. Both their governments have committed themselves to turning things around, to starting the economic engines of their huge labor forces, and to create the future rather than perpetually chase after it.

Both megacities have image problems, but Kolkata's intellectuals are not afraid to wax poetic about the joys inspired by their much-loved and long neglected metropolis. In contrast, rapid social change in Karachi has left many people here with an identity crisis and self esteem issues. The fact that visas to the U.S. from Pakistan are now so hard to obtain is not helping the situation.

Both megacities will succeed. But Karachi has a better urban infrastructure than any big Indian metro, less traffic, far better tax policies, and less religious tension. Wages for manual work are higher than in India and there is less extreme poverty here. The fact that alcohol is rare contributes to a happier, healthier and more productive populace.

Karachi has a vibrant alcohol-free nightlife. The residents here love to eat out and then go down to the beaches. There are throngs of well-mannered young men and women strolling around on the beaches until well past 2 a.m.

The city's main beaches are well lit and, in my experience, are safe for Americans alone. I've been down there late at night with fellow Rutgers graduates. Rutgers alumni appear plentiful enough and successful enough to be in a position to establish a permanent alumni clubhouse in one of the neighborhoods near the beach.

Religious Tolerance
A big question about Pakistan is the status of religious minorities here. The roughly 600,000 Hindus in Karachi are part of the economic elite, have almost assimilated, and have generally adopted lifestyles similar to the larger population -- much to the bane of vegetarians who visit here from the U.S. and India.

Christians and a smattering of Zoroastrians run the primary and secondary schools, which contributes to the acceptance that those groups experience. The Christians who I talked with all spoke about how comfortable they feel here. Everyone who I spoke with was respectful of the U.S. and Americans, even though they did not always understand or agree with U.S. policies.

On February 2, 2005, on my second full night in Karachi, I'm whisked off to the expo to hear President Musharraf deliver the opening remarks. His bodyguards are the best part of the show. As a front-line country in the "War on Terror," there have been attempts on his life. Despite those attempts, the former commando has been traveling widely and meeting large numbers of people up and down the country as if he was campaigning for office. His bodyguards make that happen.

Democrats for Musharraf
In a rough survey of about 100 people that I conducted here, every single person spoke favorably of Musharraf. Most said that Musharraf is just what the country needs right now. The word "modest" is often used to describe him. Some would preface their endorsements by saying: "As an avowed democrat ..."

One of Musharraf's themes is openness and transparency in government. In the upcoming privatization of a large share of the government-owned telephone company, for example, he is having the bids opened and inspected by journalists who have been critical of the government -- a public process that we have yet to see in the U.S.

The press's openness to criticize Musharraf is remarkable and would have been unthinkable five years ago. The criticisms that I'm most interested in are those having to do with the pace of land reform and the social consequences of Pakistan not having moved forward as fast or as extensively as India has done with the land reform efforts undertaken since both countries gained their independence in 1947.

As Musharraf began his opening remarks at Pakistan Expo 2005, a small explosion occurred between us. There is a popping noise and a burning object falls from the ceiling. Without flinching, Musharraf assures the crowd that it is not a gunshot, telling everyone that he can distinguish gunfire from other sounds. The crowd laughs. It turns out that a lamp overheated and burst.

Stability
Musharraf emphasizes the continuity of purpose and policies that his government is using to create a stable business environment (something that is sadly lacking in the taxation policies of neighboring countries). Although the United States is contributing to stability in Pakistan, there are few Americans in the Expo crowd.

Musharraf spoke of moderation in Islam. Islam serves as a unifying force in what is actually a surprisingly secular country, something that none of Pakistan's neighbors except China can say about themselves.

In Musharraf's speeches on Urdu language television stations, he is much more blunt than he is in English. "We have a problem," Musharraf tells his Urdu audiences, speaking in frank terms about the issues facing Pakistan and how the country needs to change.

"Come visit Pakistan," Musharraf tells the crowd at Expo. If you visit, you will be pleasantly surprised, he adds.

I know, because I am. I've stayed on after the Expo to gather practical information on how both IT and non-IT firms operate, information that will be presented here later.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anthony Mitchell , an E-Commerce Times columnist, has been involved with the Indian IT industry since 1987, specializing through InternationalStaff.net in offshore process migration, call center program management, turnkey software development and help desk management.

PakistanUnited, thanks for posting such an interesting and informative article. This article makes you feel proud as a Pakistani.

yes i think we should all email Anthony Mitchell he has done so much for Pakistan and no one has ever thanked him!

Yes and isnt it strange that it's a Foreigner that's telling us that!

What we all are indulged into are Threats and Strikes and shit from people who oppose just about everything Mushy does!

We need to do something..

Karachi is a historic city with a rich heritage of fine architecture. This city was formerly known as the Gateway to Sindh, and has also served as the capital of Pakistan in the past. It still is a thriving commercial center and a major seaport poised towards becoming one of the key business capitals of Pakistan.

The city started its roots as a small fishing village named after the wife of a local fisherman, Mai Kolaachee. With the onset of British rule in the subcontinent, the village of Kolaachee was recognized for its potential as a sea port because of its natural harbor, and was subsequently developed into a major trading city between the subcontinent and Europe. For the next century or so, it was the key port which the British merchants used to conduct the subcontinent's trade with the west. Its name also slowly changed to Kurraachee, or presently, to Karachi. After the partition of the Indian subcontinent, Karachi absorbed the waves of immigrants that migrated from India seeking home in Pakistan. It was also made the capital city of Pakistan and remained so for a considerable period of time till a new capital was developed at Islamabad.

Karachi, since its early years, has shown a great potential as an harbor for business activities, and has a capacity to absorb people from all walks of life. Presently, it continues to cultivate a rich mix of different ethnicities which has earned it the title of the Melting Pot of Pakistan, and gives it a rich cosmopolitan character. Since the formative phase of its development was in the colonial era, it still preserves a rich colonial heritage. After the formation of Pakistan, there was a lot of haphazard development which ruined its character to a considerable extent. This was exacerbated by the years of neglect meted out to it after the capital was shifted to Islamabad. This website serves to highlight some of the colonial architectural heritage of the city, now a victim of neglect and decay, which gives it its unique character.

http://www.historickarachi.netfirms.com/

I am currently working on an update to this website. Will let y'all know as soon as it is ready.

KARACHI: Technical team submits report on TKP projects

KARACHI, March 13: The Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) for the Master Plan 2020 for Karachi has submitted its report to the project director of the Tameer-i-Karachi Programme (TKP) for approval of the city government and opening of financial proposals to negotiate with consultants for a final selection of awarding consultancy services.

According to a city government official, the project for formulation of the master plan was being undertaken by the city government as a component of the TKP.

Expression of interests (EoI) for the project had been invited by the city government in November last, he informed, adding that a total of 13 firms and consortia had submitted EoIs, which were subsequently evaluated for pre-qualification by the TEC, constituted by the city government.

Four of the 13 consortiums were pre-qualified by the TEC, of which three consortia of consultants had submitted their technical and financial proposals, he said. However, one of the consortia was disqualified by the city government's EDO Law, to whom the case was referred, as the firm was found to have misrepresented facts in violation of the terms of reference of the project, he added.

The financial bids of the remaining two qualified consortiums shall be opened shortly for negotiation and award of work, he said. The city government official further said that another project for development of precise digital base and road conditions transportation network and Revenue GISs for Karachi was being undertaken as an important project of the city. -PPI


http://www.dawn.com/2005/03/14/local13.htm

so this is ur site.......nice work

also served as the capital of Pakistan in the past.


Wow, I didn't know that. Do you know till what year it served as the capital.

Swervout do you know the free hosting i provide members of this site with?

200 megs
2 gig bandwidth
no ads if your intrested PM me
Cpanel

Mainhoonna: Karachi was capital of Pakistan till 1959 when Islamabad was developed
PU: check ur PM, thanks!

I have updated the website with a major update,
the new URL is
www.historickarachi.com (http://www.historickarachi.com/)
Please let me know of your comments and suggestions.

FOODTECH PAKISTAN 2005
Co-organised by three international organisers, each a leading player in their respective countries, the 2nd FoodTech Pakistan is set to be the perfect showcase for Food Technology and Developments in the South Asian region.
Focusing on food-related technologies, namely hospitality products, equipment, food processing machinery and technology, this premium international showcase will once again reinforce its position as a platform to evaluate profitable investment decisions for equipment and technology in the food industry.

FoodTech Pakistan’s cross concept aims to provide an all-encompassing spread covering everything from the processing of foods to packaging, storage and linked technologies – all within the allied FoodTech and Plastic, Printing & Packaging industries. With this process orientation and cross-sector approach, FoodTech Pakistan 2005 will provide all the right ingredients for your success.

http://www.foodtechpakistan.com



PLASTIC PRINTING PACKAGING PAKISTAN 2005
Co-organised by three international organisers, each a leading player in their respective countries, the 2nd PPP Pakistan will once again reinforce its position as THE ONLY ONE professional exhibition to evaluate profitable investment decisions in Plastic, Printing and Packaging equipment as well as technology industries.

Focusing on plastic & rubber, packaging & printing related machinery, in addition to material and technology, this all-encompassing show aims to provide the ideal networking platform in South Asian region.

http://www.plastipacpakistan.com/

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/subse/upk/Events-PK/igatex-banner2.jpg

IGATEX Pakistan 2005
4th International Garment & Leather Machinery & Accessories Exhibition
April 13-16 2005
Karachi Expo Centre
http://www.igatex.com.sg/pakistan/



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OIC - China J/V Investment
Exhibition & Conference 2005
May 23 - 27, 2005
at China International Exhibition Centre
http://www.oic-china.com/ICIT



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International Conferences on Information Technology,
Investment, Trade, Joint Ventures, Privatization etc.
ICIT, ICIP, ICIB, ICECO, ICJTI, IAC
at Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta etc.




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2nd Textile Asia 2005
Exhibition & Conference
19 - 21 March 2005; 2006; 2007
at Karachi Expo Centre
http://www.textileasia.com.pk/




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International Spring Fair Asia
J/V Investment & Trade Exhibition
26 - 28 March 2005
at Karachi Expo Centre
http://www.springfairasia.com/




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Auto & Transport Asia 2005
Exhibition & Conference
26 - 28 March 2005; 2006; 2007
at Karachi Expo Centre
http://www.autoasia.com.pk/




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2nd ITIF Asia 2005
Int'l Trade & Industry Fair
Exhibition & Conference
26 - 28 March 2005; 2006; 2007
at Karachi Expo Centre
http://www.itifasia.com/




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2nd Health Asia 2005
Exhibition & Conferences
19-20 March 2005; 2006; 2007
at Hotel Pearl Continental, Karachi
http://www.health-asia.com/



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Engineering Asia 2005
Exhibition & Conference
26 - 28 March 2005; 2006; 2007
at Karachi Expo Centre
http://www.engineeringasia.net/





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Oil, Gas & Power Asia 2005
Exhibition & Conference
26 - 28 March 2005; 2006; 2007
at Karachi Expo Centre
http://www.ogpoaisa.com/




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Agro Asia 2005
Int'l Agricultural Exhibition & Conference
26 - 28 March 2005, 2006; 2007
at Karachi Expo Centre
http://www.agroasia.net/




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Build Asia 2005
Exhibition & Conference
26 - 28 March 2005; 2006; 2007
at Karachi Expo Centre
http://www.buildasia.net/




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5th ITCN Asia 2005 Information Technology Commerce Network
Exhibition & Conference
9 - 11 August 2005; 2006; 2007
at Karachi Expo Centre
http://www.itcnasia.com/

World of Brands exhibition in May

Pakistan’s renowned event managing company - Event and Conference International will hold the first exhibition of its kind "World of Brands" in collaboration with the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) from May 3, till 5th May at the Karachi Expo Centre.

"So far 30 companies have registered themselves to showcase their products in the exhibition while more and more companies are showing their interest to participate in the exhibition," organisers said.

Chief organiser of the exhibition told ‘The News’ that they are expecting around 70 to 80 local and international companies to participate in the exhibition

He said that the local and international home appliances manufacturer companies including electronics items, handicrafts, health and beauty products, automobile, textile, sports and consumer goods would take part in the exhibition.

Jaweed said that the exhibitors would offer their products at subsidised rates and added "It will be a great opportunity for manufacturers, traders, distributors and consumers to directly interact with people from different walks of life.

Its something similar to what Dawn hosts, except that its an international event :)

This project suffers from some inherent design flaws which have been highlighted in this column by Mr. Ardeshir Cowasjee:

The Clifton Cross: a complete mess


Ardeshir Cowasjee

The 'core issue' for millions who commute on Karachi's roads is, at this moment in time, the Clifton Cross (about which I have written earlier this month). Now, to follow the wont of Weaver of Magic Spells George Wellington Wells who always pressed onwards, the subject is continued.

"Ecco, no camber, no storm water drainage, damaged road faccia. No ready repair gangs. For why your engineers wasting city money? For what they are doing? Why such high footpaths? How high walker can climb?"

Such was the constant refrain muttered by Engineer Paolo Tradardi, consultant for Corneliano and Sidermar of Italy, as we drove along Karachi's roads in those far off days, long before Jawaharlal Nehru marched into Marmagoa in 1961. The Italians were then importing Goaneze ore and Karachi was a midway port from which a regular passenger-cargo ship ran to Goa and back.

Tradari had a practical engineer's trained and enquiring mind and his Italish was perfectly understandable. His remarks would today be identical and he would have rejected the Clifton Cross plan out of hand, with disdain. We are moving backwards.

The Clifton Cross was planned over a year ago, and was first discussed at a Tameer-e-Karachi meeting in June 2004 chaired by the then Commander 5 Corps, Lt General Ahsan Saleem Hyat (now VCOAS). Those present included City Nazim Niamatullah Khan, and a number of civil and military officials.

It is impossible to conceive that any one of the attendants could express any opinion contrary to that of Commander 5 Corps. In such manner are the affairs of our city decided. We were better off under the British one century ago, as can be judged from how the Gateway of India at Bombay, a city project presenting no impediment or inconvenience to the public, was designed and built : "George Wittert prepared alternate designs during 1912-13 for the monument. Models as well as drawings were exhibited for the public and criticisms and suggestions were received and considered. It was only in August 1914 that the final plans were sanctioned and Witteret altered the alignment of the harbour front to arrange his scheme." ('Bombay - The Cities Within', Sharada Dwivedi/Rahul Mahrotra, pub.1995).

Anyhow, now frightened voices mutter, 'I'm telling you but don't say I told you.' Reportedly a proper three-level design was presented (underpass/at grade/overpass) allowing for an uninterrupted flow of traffic from and to all directions. This was rejected: the order was given 'Present another design within 15 days.' The new makeshift design, cheap and careless, allows for no right turns, it is totally inadequate, and it is doubtful that it would be approved even in a backward republic reversing towards the fourth world.

A vehicle going towards Clifton from Teen Talwar wishing to turn right at Schon Circle to get to Mai Kolachi will have to travel up to Do Talwar and come round and back and turn left. A vehicle going towards the city from Clifton wishing to turn right at Schon Circle to get to Submarine Chowk will have to go up to Teen Talwar, turn round and come back to Schon Circle and turn left.

A vehicle coming from Mai Kolachi wishing to turn right and go to Clifton will have to go up to the Submarine Chowk, turn around, and come back to Schon Circle to turn left. A vehicle coming from Submarine Chowk and wishing to get to Teen Talwar will have to go all the way up to the Mai Kolachi roundabout and come back to Schon Circle and turn left.

Additional travelling time for each double-back comes to roughly 10 minutes over a distance of 1.5 kilometres. Multiply this by the number of vehicles plus man hours over a period of 50 years. Time and money lost - phenomenal!

If all this is unclear to any reader, he or she should consult an engineer.

What is needed is a three-tiered design. Designers NESPAK say that even at this stage a design can be provided if 'client' or 'sponsor' KPT asks for one. KPT is spending the Trust's money, the people's money. It should, before it is too late, order NESPAK to provide the design and tell the city government what should be done.

However, the city government couldn't care less. Good old Nazim Niamatullah will say "I'll be dead and gone, and so will old Cowasjee! Why is he agitating?" Should those responsible for this city not do what is right and proper for the welfare of its people?

Right now, immediately, something must be done to alleviate the mess that has been made, and to lessen the sufferings and trauma caused to commuters. For one thing, when such a project is undertaken, it is expected that work will continue for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that tools will not be downed for holidays and high days.

For another, a suggestion : That the governor, the city nazim, the city police chief, and whoever else is responsible, get into the driver's seat of their own cars, with me sitting besides them, and travel, without escorts, sirens or police vehicles, over the dug-up/disturbed terrain and over all the available alternative routes on main roads and through sidelanes and backroads.Then and then only will they realize what the citizens, to whom they are responsible, are suffering and will be forced to suffer for the next two years. Then and then alone they may feel inclined to do something about it.

It can be done, if they think and plan (if capable of thought) and then organize the necessary repairs/recarpeting of the alternative routes, working obviously only during the night, every night. Would those concerned care to respond and react?

http://216.15.130.86/weekly/cowas/cowas.htm

It will be a service to ourselves and to Pakistan if we write to the city Nazim and let him know that such a short term design for important projects would not work and he should get it changed. If they are developing something, dont develop it haphazardly, but do it in the interest of the people and make something of long lasting durability.
The Nazim's email address is citynazim@karachicity.gov.pk (taken from the Karachi City website) but since this might not be the one he checks, it would be good if we can find other means to contact him too and let him know about this.

Swerveut: The media is the most powerful tool of this century, Im pretty sure Cowasjee's column regarding the Clifton Cross will get attention :)

Found a pic of the work in progress on DAWN's website, http://www.dawn.com

I hope Cowasjee's writings have prompted a review of the underpass design.

This must be a heck of an inconvenience! I remember how busy this road was!

https://webspace.utexas.edu/ansarisw/Pics/SCHONunderpass.jpg

how long will it take to complete

This is gonna be a big mess! I think its too late to contact the City Nazim becuase by the looks of the picture the foundation is probaly almost being started on.

Not really. From the picture, which was probably taken today or yesterday since it was just in the newspaper, it can be seen that they are just doing digging right now. And even if a foundation has been laid now, it would be less costly to revamp the project now than to wait for a few more years and a few more headaches before this place has to be dug up again due to the inadequacy of this underpass. Geez, where have the brains gone from our people? no one in the government realises the importance of long term planning and proper studying of a project before work starts on it :bash:

Thats a vey interesting article, good on ya cowasjee for writing it. I really hope it does get some attention, because i mean we are spending momey on this project so we might aswell make it good and viable in the long term.

KARACHI:City nazim presents Rs42.9bn budget

By Azizullah Sharif

KARACHI, April 30: A record Rs42.9 billion budget of the city government for the fiscal 2005-06 was presented at the City Council on Saturday. The budget is 34.5 per cent higher than the estimated budget of the current year, 2004-05.

The budget outlay also includes Rs1,278.20 million from the Sindh Government’s Annual Development Programme; Rs6,000 million from the Tameer-i-Karachi Package; and Rs8,527.36 million as salary and non-salary expenditures of the devolved departments of the Sindh government.

It also incorporates the Water and Sanitation Department’s (KWSB) next financial year budget of Rs7,115.32 million, showing similar amounts under the heads of both the board’s total receipts and total expenditures.

It is the first time in Karachi’s history that a huge amount of Rs24,571.58 million has been earmarked for development works.

The devolution of various departments from the Sindh government to the city government in accordance with the First Schedule of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001, coupled with the merger of various civic agencies such as the KWSB, the KDA, the KBCA, etc, has widened the spectrum and scope of the city government’s budget profile.

The budget documents show that the city government’s anticipated income during the next fiscal year will be Rs42,971.01 million as against its proposed total expenditures of Rs42,791.25 million, indicating a surplus of Rs179 million.

A major chunk — Rs10,746 million — of the total expenditures is for the city government’s Works and Services Department followed by Rs7,312.17 million for education; Rs5,376.22 million for the Malir Development Project; Rs2,699.18 million for the health department; Rs2,577 million as the share of the 18 towns and 178 union councils under the head of matching grant in lieu of octroi; and Rs1,330.81 million for the Lyari Development Project.

In addition, the city government has also allocated Rs1,254.70 million as funds for the city’s 178 union councils, women, general and minorities’ councillors of the City Council.

According to budget documents, the city government’s establishment expenditures for the next financial year have been estimated at Rs3,116.60 million; contingencies at Rs1,229.18 million; and repairs and maintenance expenditures at Rs192.79 million.

The city government has also set aside Rs1,139.20 million for carrying out development works in all the 178 union councils of the megapolis.

TKP: About Rs6 billion have been earmarked under the head of Tameer-i-Karachi Programme for constructing various roads, bridges and drainages, establishing crises management centres, preparing a master plan for water supply, solid waste, and also for undertaking a number of other development works.

UPLIFT PLANS: Major development projects to be initiated or completed in the next financial year include:

- construction and improvement of intra-city, towns and union councils roads and intersections for which Rs400 million have been earmarked;
- improvement and maintenance of roads, footpaths, culverts, roundabouts and intersections (Rs160 million);
- city government’s share for development works to be undertaken by the Citizen Community Board (Rs150 million);
- development and improvement of inter-towns roads (Rs130 million);
- Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (Rs100 million);
- implementation expenditure for Rail-based Karachi Mass Transit System – Corridor-I (Rs100 million);
- Sohrab Goth flyover (Rs100 million);
- Hassan Square flyover (Rs40 million);
- development works proposed by women councillors of the City Council (Rs88 million);
- construction of inter-city bus termini (Rs80 million);
- purchase of fire tenders and fire equipment (Rs79.25 million);
- Karachi Medical and Dental College (Rs160 million);
- renovation, improvement and widening of Hawkesbay Road from Grex Village to Hawkesbay Beach (Rs53.25 million);
- launching of housing schemes (Rs50 million);
- provision of electricity on major roads (Rs50 million);
- revitalization of government educational institutions (Rs50 million);
- construction of underpass near the FTC Flyover (Rs50 million);
- City Diagnostic Centre (Rs50 million); construction of a women library (Rs40 million);
- construction of roads running parallel to the the Liaquat Flyover (Rs30 million);
- construction/improvement and de-silting of storm water drains (Rs30 million);
- construction of new fire stations (Rs27.5 million);
- industrial farming estate (Rs25 million);
- doubling of the Habib Rahimtolla Road (Rs23 million);
- improvement of Manghopir Road from Sarhad petrol pump to Surjani Phase-II (Rs22 million);
- development of parks (Rs21 million);
- construction and improvement of garbage transfer station (Rs20 million);
- specialised diseases hospital (Rs20 million) and
- improvement of electricity at Sharea Faisal (Rs20 million).

Other major upliftment plans along with amounts earmarked for them include:

- Provision of basic amenities in the district council that fall under the limits of the CDGK (Rs20 million);
- construction of Aiwan-i-Riffat (Rs20 million);
- construction of Khadda Market (Rs20 million);
- construction and development of a fish aquarium at Clifton (Rs20 million);
- the FTC Right-Turn Flyover (Rs10 million);
- development of Safari Park (Rs18.5 million);
- setting up a school of physiotherapy (Rs20 million);
- provision of facilities for treatment of psychological diseases by setting up units in city government’s major hospitals (Rs20 million);
- provision of basic health facilities in rural areas/goths (Rs20 million);
- development works at Landhi and Orangi cottage industries (Rs20 million);
- construction of Road in Korangi I-Area-8000 and Landhi-I Area-000 (Rs20 million);
- rehabilitation of health care centres, basic health units, child and mother centres (Rs15 million);
- construction and improvement of boundary walls of graveyards (Rs15 million);
- construction of indoor gymnasium at Sports Complex (Rs15 million); rehabilitation of maternity homes (Rs15 million);
- upgradation of existing schools to model schools (Rs15 million);
- development works proposed by minority councillors (Rs13.50 million);
- development works proposed by city labour councillors (Rs13.5 million);
- security system for Civic Centre and purchase of equipment for crisis management cell (Rs10 million);
- purchase of ventilators for the Intensive Care Unit of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (Rs10 million);
- setting up a women university (Rs10 million);
- construction of market and commercial complexes in city district areas (Rs10 million);
- purchase of heavy machinery for central pool (Rs10 million);
- construction of fire station at Gulistan-i-Jauhar (Rs10 million):
- improvement and renovation of hospitals, maternity homes, dispensaries and clinics (Rs10 million);
- development of Malir River belt (Rs10 million);
- gateways at Super Highway (Rs7 million);
- gateway on the Hub River Road (Rs7 million);
- construction of Sindh Babul Islam, near Quaid-i-Azam International Airport (Rs6 million);
- and improvement of the slaughter house (Rs5 million).


Source:

http://www.dawn.com/2005/05/01/local1.htm

Foreign firms should now hurry up and stake out their share of that!

:runaway: :horse:

ps. I personally think that a little bit more should have been earmarked for the slaughterhouses after seeing that George almost puked his guts when visiting a "gosht ki dukaan" in GKP. That was embarrassing.

Yes, Lol i saw that and to tell you the truth in Lahore its much more cleaner!

Karachi Port Trust (KPT) is considering some other designs for construction of the Schon Circle Underpass after receiving criticism against its present design from people of different walks of society and experts. In fact, it is learnt, the ongoing construction work on the project is not based on the design which was initially approved. According to the original plan, right turn option was part of the design for smooth flow of traffic coming from different sides, but this facility was later dropped for reasons best known to the concerned officials.

Furthermore, Ports and Shipping Minister Babar Khan Ghauri is also reportedly taken strong notice of deviation from original plan and directed the concerned officials to revert to the original plan, including right turn option, to facilitate the vehicles crossing the intersection from different sides.

The minister in a meeting held a couple of days back had directed KPT to immediately implement the change with regard to Schon Circle Underpass at Clifton. The minister had taken cognizance of complaints and concerns voiced by general public in the media.

Regarding changes in the original plan, an official of KPT said that various options are taken up in any project, and Schon Circle Underpass project is no exception. He said: "The modifications in the original design were also based on some concrete and solid reasons, but due to objections of experts and some quarters, these are being replaced with other options to go ahead for construction of the underpass."

In view of experts' objections and complaints of traffic problem due to digging of road on Schon Circle, Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad Khan has also taken notice of the situation and directed the concerned departments to pay attention to the objections.

Following the directive of the Governor, concerned departments would also submit a new design of the underpass within ten days, with provisions to meet the requirements of vehicular traffic at the said junction. According to experts' objections, due to non-availability of right turn facility, a vehicle approaching Clifton from Teen Talwar by turning right at Schon Circle to get the Mai Kolachi would have to travel up to 'Do Talwar' and come round and back and turn left.

Similarly, a vehicle coming from Clifton to approach Submarine Chowk, by taking turn right at Schon Circle would have to go up to the 'Teen Talwar', turn round and come back to Schon Circle, and turn left.

Similarly a vehicle coming from Mai Kolachi, wishing to turn right to go to Clifton would have to go up to the Submarine Chowk turn around and come back to Schon Circle to turn left. A vehicle coming from Submarine Chowk and wishing to get to 'Teen Talwar' would have to go all the way up the Mai Kolachi roundabout and come back to Schon Circle and turn left.

KARACHI: A three-day exhibition of branded products has started in Karachi.

At least thirty companies are participating in the exhibition while 70 stalls of branded products would be displayed during the exhibition.

The organizers of the exhibition and the company’s director Jawed Saifi while addressing the press conference said that in this exhibition many companies including Butter products, Siddique Sons, Pepsi, Tetrapak, Panasonic, Airblue and Buxly paints.

He said that the reason for the exhibition is to create an awareness regarding the branded products because under the present environment only clean eatables are a guarantee for a better health.

Recent Pic from www.dawn.com
(lost the date, but was somewhere in early May 2005)

https://webspace.utexas.edu/ansarisw/Pics/underpass2.jpg

i believe cowasjee's reservations were taken into consideration and the plan was modified. i remember reading something to this effect recently.

One such plan was to change the underpass design to a Cloverleaf, but i cant see that happening. As a cloverleaf design needs a lot of space and all four roads have to be dug up to connect it.

An example of the Cloverleaf;

http://www.fury.com/images/weblog/cloverleaf.jpg

http://www.urbanpakistan.com/modules/coppermine/albums/Rahim_Schon_Cirlce_May11/normal_DSC00301.jpg

thanks for the update and pictures guys. Good job

Work is going on round the clock
The underpass is being made as follows:
Traffic going from Teen to Do Talwar has been diverted to go through other roads, and digging is going on on the entire road except for a curved route right on the schon circle to let the traffic from the bypass road continue uninterrupted.
Currently, I think they have started carpeting of the underpass road and building of the side walls. There is a lot of activity going on on site, and I would project the project to take another three to four months to complete.
There are no signs of changes to the design despite all the protests from the people.


Sidenote: if you ever visit Karachi, DO NOT i repeat DO NOT miss the Mohatta Palace museum: Jewel in the Crown exhibition. Excellent work by DAWN.

interesting. seems most local governments in south asia suffer from the same problem - short-sightedness and haphazard planning. even here there are huge infrastructure projects going on all over the city but hardly any planning has gone into the intervening traffic management, inconveniencing millions

the only remedy for this is active public participation and protests, esp from the people most affected, those in the general vicinity. a few high-profile pressure groups work wonders in getting lazy government officials do their job properly

on an aside, anyone have photos of the mohatta palace? they are my first cousins and the elders used to talk quite fondly of their previous home

''MY KARACHI,OASIS OF HARMONY''

The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) will stage the 2nd “My Karachi, “Oasis of Harmony” exhibition in June. “My Karachi” is scheduled from 24~26 June at the Karachi Expo Centre. China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have also expressed keen interest in being part of this exhibition and promoting their products amongst the end users in Pakistani markets. Companies from China alone have expressed desire in acquiring a complete hall at the Karachi Expo Centre to display their products.

According to Khalid Firoz, president KCCI on Monday, My Karachi exhibition will give foreign delegations, investors, businessmen, industrialists and traders an opportunity to further explore what Karachi and its vibrant business community has to offer.

He said the foreign tradesmen could get first-hand knowledge of the on ground situation of the products and services available as well as the kind of opportunities that this city offers. staff report

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and Kashgar have signed an agreement to participate in the KCCI's forthcoming exhibition "My Karachi - Oasis of Harmony" scheduled to be held from June 24-26, 2005 at the Expo Centre, Karachi.
Mr. Xu Xiaoqiang, Chief Representative, Kashgar Prefectural Administration, Xinjiang China, said that around 60 to 70 leading companies, industrialists, businessmen and traders from Kashgar Xinjiang province of China would participate in the exhibition.

Mr. Xiaoqiang accompanied by other delegation members called on the Chamber's President to confirm their participation and discus other related details.

Speaking on the occasion President KCCI, Mr. Khalid Firoz welcomed the delegation and said that keeping the number of expected companies coming from China "we have reserved an entire hall for them for displaying their products at the exhibition." This is the first time that any country has participated in such a big way in an exhibition held in Karachi, Mr. Firoz added.

President KCCI said that the event aims at providing an opportunity to local and foreign investors, businessmen, industrialists and traders to further explore the business opportunities, being offered in this commercial hub of the country.

He said that the extensive participation from China would send positive signals to other foreign companies interested in investing in Pakistan and added that the exhibition will also help improve the image of Karachi. "This is an opportunity for Karachiites to show to the world that we mean business," he opined.

Mr. Firoz added that the exhibition will also be attended by Bangladesh and other countries, who have been very keen on displaying their products at the KCCI exhibition. "This is a perfect example of people to people contact," KCCI chief said.

Pakistan exports to China which were valued at $300.1 million in 2001-02 have now increased to $28.3 million in 2003-04, whereas the imports from China have increased from $575.4 million in 2001-02 to $1.14 billion during 2003-04.

The fair is expected to attract huge participation from all over the region. The fair will showcase commodities, which will include electrical appliances, office equipment, electrical machinery, agricultural machinery and engineering machinery, hardware and chemical engineering materials, textile and clothing, handicrafts, toys, food materials and building materials.

DAWN Life Style exhibition today and tomorrow @ Karachi Expo Center

Mega Event of Telecom and ICT Industry - ‘Geo C Future-2005’, joint venture of Jang Group and Geo TV, will start from July 21 to 23. Numerous companies, experts and delegations from various parts of the world are invited to participate in the exhibition and conference.

The event is comprised of an international conference under the theme of ‘Global Trend of Communication’ and the exhibition with the topic of ‘Communication based lifestyle’.

The exhibition will help local products to penetrate into international market besides attracting the foreign investments in Pakistani telecom sector, he said.

For the first time, road shows will be arranged and mobile billboards and floats will be wheeled for two weeks prior to the event in the city, Khan said.

KARACHI: SCDA projects for coastal areas

KARACHI, July 6: Two mega projects costing Rs four billion for the development of coastal zone of Sindh have been approved and its implementation will start in the fiscal 2005-6 These projects being financed by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank will be executed by the Coastal Development Authority (Sindh) in various segments of economy in the coastal zone of Sindh.

This was stated by the SCDA Director-General Munawar Opel while talking to Dawn.

The Central Development Working Party has already approved these projects for which the ADB has committed to provide a grant of Rs39 million while the Sindh government will grant Rs9.840 million under the integrated coastal zone management master plan.

He said the World Bank will provide $13.5 million for the development of infrastructural facilities for vulnerable communities in the coast areas.

With the implementation of these projects, there would be tremendous income generating activities in the coastal areas and the life-style of fishermen would greatly change.

Besides, the two mega projects, the CDA is currently implementing projects worth Rs279.200 million from its own ADP including rehabilitation and propagation of the draught affected coastal mangroves of Thatta District.
-------- Courtesy -------
http://www.dawn.com/2005/text/local12.htm

good news

good news

:yes: . Very nice. Always heartening to read development news on Karachi. Hopefully, Karachi will once again see the days of its glorious past of 60s and 70s.

On a good day, it takes forty minutes to reach Karachi’s city centre from the airport. It takes almost the same time, however, for commuters to reach the industrial area of Port Qasim, said to be the most promising industrial zone of the city - this despite the fact that the distance to Port Qasim is almost one fifth of what it takes to reach the city centre.

The Port Qasim Industrial Area is part of a greater complex of futuristic projects that are being planned for the city by the government and private entrepreneurs in an area that is now being known as "Greater Karachi." This includes a high-profile Education City, a fast emerging Pakistan Steel Industrial Area and other smaller hi-technology enterprises.

However, planning and inaction on the part of the city administration seems to be turning this otherwise very promising area into another story of missed opportunities. The promise that this area holds is dazzling. Real estate developers say that this is the direction that Karachi is heading towards in the coming decade - in the words of one developer "This is the new frontier."

Already, real estate rates in the area have started to rise on news that the Defence Housing Authority will build its Phase 9 and related projects in the vicinity.

To add to this is the Link Road project that will connect the proposed Greater Karachi with the Super Highway that runs in from Hyderabad. This will give the area a parallel access to the rest of the country - something that no other part of the city can boast of. This means two main highways - the Super Highway and the National Highway within close distance.

Parts of the Pakistan Steel Industrial Area, which will be unbundled and not sold along with the privatisation of the Pakistan Steel Mills, is being seen at as a future technology park. Planners say that they see parts of the area where big multinationals and technology related companies will come and set up base for the region. A multi-million dollars international exhibition centre is also being built here, which only adds to the prospects of this industrial and technology zone.

However, despite all these bright prospects, it seems the city’s planners have not woken up to the concept of Greater Karachi. The first thing one notices is the pathetic state of the infrastructure - from the lack of proper pavements, roads and general aesthetic beauty to broken electric poles and overflowing sewers that mark the way from the city to the Port Qasim area.

As the road passes through localities like Malir, Khokhrapar, Quaidabad and onwards, the traffic swells up - not because of an increase in the number of vehicles but because the road gets narrower and the encroachments get bigger and bigger.

There are rickshaw stands, truck stands and even mini-vegetable bazaars on the way, giving any foreign investor second thoughts about investing in what is otherwise a very promising area of the city. Utter chaos reigns - policemen harassing truck drivers, big buses and dumper trucks fighting for space with overloaded Suzukis and donkey carts.

If that was not enough, the city administration has turned a blind eye to the emergence of an illegal truck stand on the main road and the rising shanties on both sides. "The problem here is that the government turns a blind eye till its too late and then compensates these people who are mostly land grabbers while the poor and the common man suffer," says M. Shahrukh, who commutes from the city to the industrial zone and says that the government needs to show it teeth on this.

If that was not enough, the government is making things worse by planning a labour colony on the main road and also allowing poorly constructed apartment buildings on the National Highway. Such buildings would better have been built at other locations, allowing for some quality constructions in line with the atmosphere that some are trying to create for Greater Karachi.

While the Sindh government has committed millions of rupees for the upgrading of its existing industrial areas, not much is being done to clean up surrounding facilities in the most promising of them all. This is the misfortune for both Karachi and Sindh.

Despite several appeals by industrialists, so far there has been little action from the government to make things better.

A much delayed overhead bridge at Quaidabad continues to be bogged by encroachments and poor planning. One would have hoped that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz sees for himself the state of disrepair that bogs the road to one of the city’s most promising areas as he arrives at Port Qasim on Friday on an official engagement. However, this may not happen, since the PM would fly in on a helicopter, much to the disappointment of those who have big dreams for Greater Karachi.

thats true

http://www.dawn.com/2005/07/09/SlideShow/pic07.jpg

KARACH - July 8, 2005: WORK in progress on an underpass at Clifton.

Source: Dawn July 9th, 2005.

I have more historic Karachi images...I'll post them...

http://www.dawn.com/2005/07/30/images/local5.jpg

KARACHI, July 29: Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim said on Friday that the government was actively considering enacting a law to bring about radical reforms in land allotments.

Criticizing a previous practice of allotting plots at throwaway prices on political grounds, he said the government, while framing a policy this regard would evolve a mechanism, which would ensure that such unlawful acts do not take place again.

The government would also be keeping it in mind that relief is provided to the poor sections of society and that the housing industry gets a boost. The low-income people, he elaborated, would be able to get houses are affordable rates.

Speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day international housing industry exhibition which began at the Expo Centre under the aegis of Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) and Association of Builders and Developers, the chief minister referred to a ban imposed on land allotments by a former Sindh governor Mohammadmian Soomro.

The ban, he said, was imposed on allotments, as these were done on political grounds.

Though plots were allowed to be sold through open auction even after the ban, even this move did not help achieve the desired results as plots purchased by the investors were not used for construction of houses for the commonman or for carrying out construction activity.

The chief minister lamented that while Karachi is the biggest city of the country, no proper planning was done for its expansion, nor proper facilities or quality construction work was kept in mind while raising apartment buildings. He said a number of projects were allowed without keeping in view the factor of provision of water and other essential services for the future dwellers of these apartments.

He said though he would take measures aimed at encouraging the housing industry, the industry people would also have to ensure quality work and they should ensure that the people who invest in their projects are not made to run from pillar to post for getting possession of their shops or flats.

Underscoring the need for restoring people’s confidence in builders, he exhorted the builders to ensure quality work and build cheaper houses and had over possession in time.

He regretted that housing schemes are developed without ensuring provision of schools, colleges, parks, playgrounds, hospitals and other requisite facilities.

He said that there was a need to ensure that no amenity plot is used for any other purpose.

Emphasising the need for city’s expansion under proper planning, he said that proposed towns must be provided with all modern facilities so that population pressure on existing infrastructure could be overcome.

“It is an era of globalization, and we would have to move ahead, like other nations”, he said, adding “it is essential that every one must have his own house, but it won’t be possible for him if houses are constructed quite expensive.”

P.S: Where should I make this thread?

You posted the article in the correct section.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/kt10208/underpass.jpg

Night shot

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/kt10208/underp2.jpg

Yeah thanks for making another topic on the Underpass, You should look at the other Sub-forums before Posting a similar topic.

Opposition presents its future vision for Karachi
KARACHI: The Tameer-e-Karachi Ittehad (TKI) comprising opposition political and religious parties contesting the final phase of the local bodies elections presented Monday its future vision of Karachi with the resolve to transform it into the most modern, peaceful and worth-living city of the Muslim world by the year 2010.

The vision was unveiled by the TKI candidate for the city nazim’s slot, Niamatullah Khan, at a press conference at Idara-e-Noor-e-Haq. The candidate for the seat of the city naib nazim was also present on the occasion. Terming Karachi the gateway to Central Asia and South Asia, Khan said if the Tameer-e-Karachi Ittehad panel won the final phase of the local bodies elections, it would make maintenance of law and order its foremost objective as the development and prosperity of any city and its peace were linked.

“A poor law and order situation in any city not only worsens its civic facilities, which results in degeneration of its infrastructure, but also discourages foreign investors.”

Khan, who is also the former city nazim, said that in view of the significance of law and order, the TKI had decided to install a surveillance system, which would help catch criminals involved in destabilising law and order in the city.

A new system of computerised demographic monitoring would also be established, and with citizens’ cooperation peace committees already operating at union council and mohallah levels would be strengthened, he said, adding that one of the vital segments of the new plan was development and improvement of the city infrastructure. In this regard, he noted, plans have been finalised for the construction of 48 flyovers and underpasses, early completion of the Lyari Expressway, Conversion of the Northern Bypass into a dual passage, and construction of an elevated road on Sharea Faisal on a built-operate-and-transfer basis.

Other projects envisioned by the TKI include starting construction of a southern bypass, an Orangi expressway and a tunnel in Qasba Town, development of all city roads in line with international standards and construction of dams and jetties for the promotion of fisheries and recreational activities on the city beaches.

Khan said spadework for the mass transit programme was completed during the last four years, and in the next four years work on 6 corridors would be completed, a tramway system would be developed in congested areas, all traffic signals would be run with solar energy, lane-marking on all roads would be completed by the end of December 2005, intercity bus terminals would be shifted to the city’s outskirts and vertical car-parking plazas would be set up at various places in the city.

He assured that for the supply of 400 million gallons of additional water to Karachi, a K-1V project would be launched, saying that currently the city was provided with a total of 452 million gallons daily, which was insufficient to cater to the water requirement of the growing population of the city.

He said that at the request of the CDGK, the federal government had approved Rs 2 billion for the K-111 project that would help provide Karachi another 100 million gallons of water daily.

The TKI candidate for the city nazim’s slot also said that his panel also wanted to replace the decades-old water supply system of the city with a new pressurised system, which would help the citizens rid themselves of suction pumps, underground and rooftop tanks needed for storing water.

Fort improving the sewerage system, the TKI plans to use FRP pipes, besides installing in every town a special plant for the utilisation of used water for gardening.

Khan said creation of employment opportunities for the jobless citizens of Karachi is one of his major objectives as “we have evolved plans for creation of 100,000 job opportunities for the jobless people of Karachi.”

For realisation of this goal, he said, n the next few months, a drive for the collection of data of such citizens would be launched and in the first phase, in the education and health sectors, 14,000 employment opportunities would be created.

In the next phase, 40,000 job opportunities would be created in the cottage industry and the agro-farming sector, he said, hoping that tramway and green bus services would create 5,000 jobs and as a result of planned major development activities. Another 20,000 jobs would be provided to deserving people, he added.

If elected, Khan will also be seeking legal authority to solve daily problems of citizens as regards easy availability of milk, meat and other edible items to the people on a permanent basis.

He said that on the city’s outskirts an agro-farming estate spreading over 3,000 acres would be established, where facilities in line with hygiene rules, cattle-farming, milk-processing and packing, a modern slaughter house and meat-packaging in consonance with international standards would be made available. The project would take off from December 2005 and would be completed in a short period of time, he added.

The former city nazim said all katchi abadis would be low-cost housing schemes to facilitate their inhabitants, who would be provided with leasing facilities. His other plans included launch of five new housing schemes, converting all fisheries colonies into low-cost housing schemes, completion of housing schemes for government servants, revival of industrial areas of the city, initiation of five new industrial zones and a one-window operation for industrialists under which they would be provided with civic facilities under one roof.

Khan also announced that a master plan would be launched for the provision of health facilities to the people of Karachi. Under the plan, a hospital in all towns, primary healthcare and chest pain centres in all city areas, emergency centres at union council level, and ambulance and physiotherapy centres would be set up.

He said that under the slogan “quality education for all”, 4,000 government schools would be made model schools, 50 new colleges would be constructed, 100 students securing top positions would be provided with scholarships until completion of their PhD programmes, 100 students securing positions at school level would be provided with free computers, 18 model libraries and two women universities would be set up in the city, 18 technical institutions would be established to facilitate girl students and adult literacy centres would be set up in katchi abadis.

Pre-poll rigging allegations: At the same press conference, the TKI alleged that for the election of city nazim and naib nazim, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in collaboration with the Sindh Election Commission was changing the locations of polling stations used in the 2001 local elections, and termed the alleged move “pre-polling rigging.”

Niamatullah Khan alleged that in collaboration with official of the Election Commission, the Haq parast panel has managed to change the locations of at least 10 polling stations in various city areas, including Lyari, New Karachi, Gulberg, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Liaquatabad, Shah Faisal Colony, Landhi, Korangi, Baldia Town and Gadap.

He claimed to have the required number of votes to form the next city government.

On this occasion, Qari Osman of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazlur Rahman Group and Hashim Siddiqui of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan-Shah Noorani Group announced their support for the Tameer-e-Karachi Ittehad.

Rizwan Khanzada, an independent candidate for the slot of city nazim, also announced his support the panel. He claimed that 200 other independent councillors would also extend their support to the TKI panel

So will these Nazims be directly elected by the people or will they be elected by those Counsellors etc. who won in first two phases of Local elections?

Counsellors.

"These are the good times for Pakistan," said the Cathay Pacific manager in Los Angeles, who is originally from Karachi. Decades of neglect are being compensated (and in some cases overcompensated) by the government of President Pervez Musharraf. Investment is pouring in from countries in the Persian Gulf, from India, and especially from China.

Megacities with populations larger than entire countries are changing the physical and economic landscape of the globe. Megacities have economic engines that are powering the future of the world. Megacities have larger markets than many developed countries.

The megacities are coming. They are the future. They are here now.

Karachi, Pakistan's, population of 14 million is augmented by an equal number of people in nearby satellite towns. The Karachi area has more people than Canada and an airport smaller than modest U.S. towns such as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Indianapolis, Indiana, or Tallahassee, Florida.

A Quick Quiz

Landing in Karachi today is the economic equivalent of visiting a huge spaceship moments before blastoff. You can feel the engines rumbling, the ground shaking, and you only have a few seconds to either jump off or be rocketed into the stratosphere.

What city has the fastest growing stock market in the world? Karachi.

What English language high school consistently tops out the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores? Karachi Grammar School.

What country has the fastest growing cell phone market? Pakistan.

The statistics go on and on.

Reading statistics is no substitute for seeing a place. So I stuffed my American preconceptions into a suitcase and headed out from Seattle.

Good Times

"These are the good times for Pakistan," said the Cathay Pacific manager in Los Angeles, who is originally from Karachi. Decades of neglect are being compensated (and in some cases overcompensated) by the government of President Pervez Musharraf. Investment is pouring in from countries in the Persian Gulf, from India, and especially from China.

China is building a massive port in a Karachi suburb that sits at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. China sees Pakistan as a means to expand its market presence throughout the region.

Only U.S. firms, burdened by preconceptions, are holding back. American firms are afraid to even market computer hardware and software to a rapidly expanding market that is flush with cash and ready to spend.

Indian IT firms are gradually moving in because their own software economy has experienced labor shortages and price increases. Pakistan is 30 percent cheaper than India for information technology outsourcing. According to Karachi-based Alt-Source Communications, Karachi alone has 300,000 English-speaking job seekers in the 18 to 35 year old range who are interested in and qualified for call center work.

Arriving in Karachi

The plane touches down in Karachi in the middle of the night. The fashions here are different than the U.S., but the people are warm, friendly and surprisingly gentle. In Indian airports, it is a struggle to keep control of your baggage. Here nobody bothers me.

My government-supplied escorts are noticeably absent. Strike one. After half an hour of waiting, I hop in a cab and go to the hotel where my government tour planners had assured me a room. Strike two -- with lots more to come. If this happens to you, take it in stride. The private sector is where the action is.

The government here is remarkably hands-off -- perhaps a little too hands off. In India, when there is a problem, the government will often become involved in a major way. In Pakistan, the reaction is often for government to pull back or to engage in negotiations with disaffected groups.

Expo Pakistan 2005

I'm here to attend a national export-oriented trade show from February 2 through February 6 and then to screen software and call center facilities for possible outsourcing contracts from the U.S. Expo Pakistan 2005 is a big deal here because large international trade fairs do not happen very often in this country. I happened to be passing through here when the last one was held, 35 years ago.

The Pakistanis don't need to look very far to see how trade shows can function if they are done well. In New Delhi there are 10 to 12 major trade shows every year for IT firms, with other metro regions hosting their own lavish displays. Trade shows are a well-developed industry in India and the Indians are good at organizing them.

The ultimate intellectual trade show is India's Kolkata Book Fair. It is held in February every year, with specially constructed temporary buildings brimming with rare titles and stampeding crowds of intellectuals for whom the book fair is the ultimate literary pilgrimage. Who needs Stratford-on-Avon when the Kolkata Book Fair beckons?

A Tale of Two Cities

Comparisons between Kolkata and Karachi are inevitable. As megacities of similar size straddling opposite sides of the Indian subcontinent, they have both been languishing in economic obscurity until now. Both their governments have committed themselves to turning things around, to starting the economic engines of their huge labor forces, and to create the future rather than perpetually chase after it.

Both megacities have image problems, but Kolkata's intellectuals are not afraid to wax poetic about the joys inspired by their much-loved and long neglected metropolis. In contrast, rapid social change in Karachi has left many people here with an identity crisis and self esteem issues. The fact that visas to the U.S. from Pakistan are now so hard to obtain is not helping the situation.

Both megacities will succeed. But Karachi has a better urban infrastructure than any big Indian metro, less traffic, far better tax policies, and less religious tension. Wages for manual work are higher than in India and there is less extreme poverty here. The fact that alcohol is rare contributes to a happier, healthier and more productive populace.

Karachi has a vibrant alcohol-free nightlife. The residents here love to eat out and then go down to the beaches. There are throngs of well-mannered young men and women strolling around on the beaches until well past 2 a.m.

The city's main beaches are well lit and, in my experience, are safe for Americans alone. I've been down there late at night with fellow Rutgers graduates. Rutgers alumni appear plentiful enough and successful enough to be in a position to establish a permanent alumni clubhouse in one of the neighborhoods near the beach.

Religious Tolerance

A big question about Pakistan is the status of religious minorities here. The roughly 600,000 Hindus in Karachi are part of the economic elite, have almost assimilated, and have generally adopted lifestyles similar to the larger population -- much to the bane of vegetarians who visit here from the U.S. and India.

Christians and a smattering of Zoroastrians run the primary and secondary schools, which contributes to the acceptance that those groups experience. The Christians who I talked with all spoke about how comfortable they feel here. Everyone who I spoke with was respectful of the U.S. and Americans, even though they did not always understand or agree with U.S. policies.

On February 2, 2005, on my second full night in Karachi, I'm whisked off to the expo to hear President Musharraf deliver the opening remarks. His bodyguards are the best part of the show. As a front-line country in the "War on Terror," there have been attempts on his life. Despite those attempts, the former commando has been traveling widely and meeting large numbers of people up and down the country as if he was campaigning for office. His bodyguards make that happen.

Democrats for Musharraf

In a rough survey of about 100 people that I conducted here, every single person spoke favorably of Musharraf. Most said that Musharraf is just what the country needs right now. The word "modest" is often used to describe him. Some would preface their endorsements by saying: "As an avowed democrat ..."

One of Musharraf's themes is openness and transparency in government. In the upcoming privatization of a large share of the government-owned telephone company, for example, he is having the bids opened and inspected by journalists who have been critical of the government -- a public process that we have yet to see in the U.S.

The press's openness to criticize Musharraf is remarkable and would have been unthinkable five years ago. The criticisms that I'm most interested in are those having to do with the pace of land reform and the social consequences of Pakistan not having moved forward as fast or as extensively as India has done with the land reform efforts undertaken since both countries gained their independence in 1947.

As Musharraf began his opening remarks at Pakistan Expo 2005, a small explosion occurred between us. There is a popping noise and a burning object falls from the ceiling. Without flinching, Musharraf assures the crowd that it is not a gunshot, telling everyone that he can distinguish gunfire from other sounds. The crowd laughs. It turns out that a lamp overheated and burst.

Stability

Musharraf emphasizes the continuity of purpose and policies that his government is using to create a stable business environment (something that is sadly lacking in the taxation policies of neighboring countries). Although the United States is contributing to stability in Pakistan, there are few Americans in the Expo crowd.

Musharraf spoke of moderation in Islam. Islam serves as a unifying force in what is actually a surprisingly secular country, something that none of Pakistan's neighbors except China can say about themselves.

In Musharraf's speeches on Urdu language television stations, he is much more blunt than he is in English. "We have a problem," Musharraf tells his Urdu audiences, speaking in frank terms about the issues facing Pakistan and how the country needs to change.

"Come visit Pakistan," Musharraf tells the crowd at Expo. If you visit, you will be pleasantly surprised, he adds.

I know, because I am. I've stayed on after the Expo to gather practical information on how both IT and non-IT firms operate, information that will be presented here later.

link?

Eccomerce times

Its been posted a 100 times here now.

wasn't this article written by Anthony Mitchell?

Yes it was and Antony Mitchell writes articles for Eccomerce Times

thats right by anthony michelle, i thought i copied it, din paste unffortunatly

i am sorry if this was a repeat post, i rarely come here.

ive read a few posts by anthony, and theyre all pretty good. hes doing a good job highliting the benefits of doing business in pakistan. somebody should drop him a line just saying thanks, i think i might do so.

KARACHI: Infrastructure for Korangi industrial area promised


KARACHI, Nov 8: City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has said that Korangi is the biggest industrial area of Pakistan and it would get modern infrastructure soon. Presiding over a meeting of Korangi Industrial Board at his office on Tuesday, he said that civic problems of the area would be solved.

Chairman Korangi Industrial Association, Gulzar Feroz, former Chairmen Abdul Haseeb, Manzar Alam, Zahid Hussain and other representatives, observed that the way the City Nazim had served the city during the last three weeks and focussed on solving the problems of industrial areas had no parallel.

In the meeting, the deteriorating condition of Road-8000 of Korangi Industrial Area also came under discussion, and a committee was formed to monitor the progress on construction of Road-8000 on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, Japanese investors have expressed their willingness to make investment for Karachi for the next 100 years.

The representatives of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) on Tuesday met the City Nazim Mustafa Kamal at his office and apprised him about their various projects in Karachi.

The delegation appreciated the vision of City Nazim and expressed their confidence in him.

Mustafa Kamal said that for betterment of Karachi, he would take a detailed review of their projects. It was agreed that separate meetings will be called in respect of each project.

EDO Investment and Enterprise Raisuddin Paracha was also present.—APP

**Old News, but i believe people with pictures and good information about Karachi should head over to the Chicago forums here and in a thread showcase Karachi there. It's the people that make the difference and the people need to take this amazing platform and build a stronger image of Pakistan as a whole.

Chicago being my home-town (i was raised there), and Pakistan being home to us all is a great sense of pride for me and hopefully the great posters of these forums will become great ambassadors for Karachi-Chicago relations & overall for showcasing all that's happening in Pakistan which is so often ignored.**


Article Below:



Karachi declared 27th sister city of US metropolis Chicago
Web posted at: 4/9/2005 3:19:5

Source ::: IANS


KARACHI: Karachi has been declared the 27th sister-city of the Mid-Western American metropolis of Chicago, it has been learnt.

The relation was made under the Chicago Sister Cities International Programme. An agreement to this effect will be signed sometime this month between the two cities’ governments.

This was disclosed at a meeting between Karachi Deputy Mayor Tariq Hasan and Chicago Department of Finance City Comptroller Tariq G Malhance, who is a US-based Pakistani. Chicago-based Unicorn Investment Bank Managing Director Amir Khan assisted the comptroller.

Both the sides discussed various issues with particular reference to the city govt, planning and development programmes. The Pakistani side elicited help and suggestions for improvement in the running of the city’s affairs along the pattern of Chicago.

Declaring Karachi and Chicago twin cities was something that was being contemplated for a long time and was initiated in 2000, but was not implemented. The proposal to bring Karachi in line with international cities was put forward by President General Pervez Musharraf during his visit to Chicago.

The expatriate Pakistanis there, led by Tariq Malhance initiated the twin city idea, even though there was a ban for entering any other country into this rank. However, Malhance, with the help of other Pakistani community leaders, managed to get the approval of Chicago Mayor Richard M Daley.

Chicago Sister Cities International Director Kathleen Houlihan wrote to Mayor Daley approving the application submitted by the Karachi deputy mayor in 2001.

The letter said that two cities shared many important attributes, the most important of which are the thousands of Pakistanis living in Chicago, who help contribute to its economy.

Pakistani-Americans are on the staff of several Chicago hospitals as well as other corporations, which is a strong indication of a flourishing and successful group of immigrants.

In addition, both Karachi and Chicago are major centres of transportation, culture, politics and commerce. Malhance said that with the declaration of twin cities, both the cities would cooperate in different fields, especially in the education sector. Other fields, which will benefit under this programme, include culture and health. He said this would also provide opportunities for city officials and citizens to experience and explore other cultures through long-term community partnerships.

Of all the 4 forums in Mehfil-e-Pakistan, I deem this is the most appropriate one for this thread. I hope others will enjoy this too. It's something like SimCity. The city is present-day Karachi and you have $250 million to spend each year. How would you spend this money? Please provide the name of the project and an estimate of the cost.

I'd start:

1. 2-level interchange at Millennium Mall. Should also serve Johar Turn. Cost: $7 million.

2. An (undecided-level) mega interchange that circles around the Metropole. Should serve all the roads around it. Cost: $15 million.

3. A 5-star hotel, 40+ stories where Metropole is (was). Cost: $100 million.

Please add more, while I think of other projects.

1. Clean Water
2. Effective Sewage and Drainage systems
3. No electricity problems

I would distribute the money in this way;

a. Light-rail project from Metropole Hotel to Jinnah International Airport.

b. Light-rail project from Radio Pakistan (M.A. Jinnah Road) to Sharea Faisal via Sharea Quaideen connected with the above mentioned route.

c. Start of Karachi Circular Railway on its full route, and possibly connected to the Light-rail route.

Although $250 mil is a less amount for Karachi's issues, but I'm pretty sure the amount will all be spent in the above mentioned projects.

If not, because I may not be sure about the costs, kindly let me know so I can add more projects.

I would distribute the money in this way;

a. Light-rail project from Metropole Hotel to Jinnah International Airport.

b. Light-rail project from Radio Pakistan (M.A. Jinnah Road) to Sharea Faisal via Sharea Quaideen connected with the above mentioned route.

c. Start of Karachi Circular Railway on its full route, and possibly connected to the Light-rail route.

Although $250 mil is a less amount for Karachi's issues, but I'm pretty sure the amount will all be spent in the above mentioned projects.

If not, because I may not be sure about the costs, kindly let me know so I can add more projects.


Man.. you 've just listed $2.5 billion dollar worth of projects.
$250 might be too small an amount....but i second UP.

>Clean drinking water
>better drainage
>better electricity
>a metro(subway) system....though this alone would require some $10 billion

I guess I will use them for:

- Light Rail Corridor I to serve Karachi's transportation needs,
- Renovation and presrvation of Karachi's historic buildings to give Karachi an identity,
- setting up an effective garbage removal system to ensure cleanliness in the city.

And that is my plan for the first year.

Umais: Do you play SimCity4?

well this thread is more appropriate for gupshup.

well here is my list.

i would use the money to try and lure private investers to invest in the city.
i would get them to invest in destilation plants, power plants, hotels, real estate.

with the money i would.

- make a sewage system
- put electric wires underground on main roads
- pedistriaze and renovate zamzama blv. and create a car parking plaza.
- renovate tariq road to be a international shopping district, make car park plazas.
- nourish all the beaches and renovate them, make clifton a proper commercial beach where as others out of town ones should be made like picnic beaches,
- make proper sidewalks/footpaths on main roads.
- make car park plazas in other busy places is well
- restore historical places and landmarks in the city
- develop more parks and restore other parks.
- put road markings on all roads
- make a proper traffic system with lots of traffic lights

Karachi seems to need more then anything else, a proper mass transit system, improved sewage, improved water suppy, and more cheap housing.

Karachi definately needs a Mass Transit system NOW, not next year, NOW!

The traffic has become pathetic lately..

$250 Millions are too less to develop Karachi on international standards.....

This must be atleast.....$10 Billions....:d

1) Removing encrouchers from the lean roads and build a multi story Market in their respective area for them.

2) Building Huge and Modern Parking plazas in all Commercial districts(upper class, middle class, lower class areas) and making a special division of Karachi Traffic Police for PARKING ISSUES and for guiding ppl to park their vehicles in the Parking Plaza...

3) Reconstruction of Karachi Building Control Authority to limit/minimize the illegal and poor constructions in the City

4) Developing a strong and modern SCHOOLING CULUTRE in the city-ONE STANDARD FOR ALLLLLL.....

5) TRESS

6) STREET LIGHTS

7) ROAD MARKING

8) Pollution.....

Project TItle : Shahri Plant
Cost: Some $250 millions (or may be more)
Location: Arabian Sea - West Karachi


Details:

The Shahri Plant will have three sections:

1. Water purifying section - which purify millions of gellons of water of arabian sea and supply to whole Karachi city so there will be no more water shortage and citizens can drink clean water.

2. Electricity producing section - which will generate some thousands of KWs electricity through a turbine which revolves with the high pressure water volume falls on it. This will fullfil the need of electricity of the city and can make Karachi a real city of lights.

3. An Artificial River Water section - which will suck millions of gellons of the arabian sea water and pour it on the starting point of two major swerage naddees (Malir Naddi and Lyari Naddi), this will make these naddies oderless and eventually it will become entertainment and way of transportation for people. Just like River Thames of London which generates millions of pounds just from ferries.

Project TItle : Shahri Plant
Cost: Some $250 millions (or may be more)
Location: Arabian Sea - West Karachi


Details:

The Shahri Plant will have three sections:

1. Water purifying section - which purify millions of gellons of water of arabian sea and supply to whole Karachi city so there will be no more water shortage and citizens can drink clean water.

2. Electricity producing section - which will generate some thousands of KWs electricity through a turbine which revolves with the high pressure water volume falls on it. This will fullfil the need of electricity of the city and can make Karachi a real city of lights.

3. An Artificial River Water section - which will suck millions of gellons of the arabian sea water and pour it on the starting point of two major swerage naddees (Malir Naddi and Lyari Naddi), this will make these naddies oderless and eventually it will become entertainment and way of transportation for people. Just like River Thames of London which generates millions of pounds just from ferries.


Ok you need way more money for a Desalination plant of that size! Waaaaaay more.

As I said before $250 mil is a far less amount for ANY project to be initiated for Karachi, so might as well use that for a trip to the Cayman Islands

:)

@ Fahad Bhai

Hahhahahahahah And thats what Ex-Mayor Karachi Mr. NaimatUllaah Khan used to do :D He had visited so much countries to make a record for any Nazim of Pakistan....However his visits were rather of ideas generating sort....

@ The Topic

Hmmmmm Water and Swerage Board needs a great attention as the other city agencies do.....

I will enhance the Local Infrastructure on the basis of International standards(not as the ancestor shouted to do so) after altering the INTERNATIONAL to the LOCAL NEEDS and LIMITATIONS.....

I will take over the KESC back and advertise in the International dailies for invitations from the Companies of International repute and having experience of working for the cities like New York, Tokyo, Beijing, KualaLampur etc...Their job will be to make a complete PC1 regarding the KESC's corporate and technical infrastructure.....I will have all the revivals done by international renowned Engineering Associates and Run the CORPORATION under the CDGK.....

I have visited the NYC's official website and was astonished to see a number of Agencies which work under their City Government....Karachi lacks this...

Plz have a look at their agencies at: www.nyc.gov

I second that Karachi needs mass transit NOW!!

I guess with $ 250 mil, you could at least lay out corridor I.

As far as Himali's projects go, haha, I think they would probably require $250 billion instead of $250 million. Coverting Lyari into the Thames. How novel indeed :rofl:

Project TItle : Shahri Plant
Cost: Some $250 millions (or may be more)
Location: Arabian Sea - West Karachi


Details:

The Shahri Plant will have three sections:

1. Water purifying section - which purify millions of gellons of water of arabian sea and supply to whole Karachi city so there will be no more water shortage and citizens can drink clean water.

2. Electricity producing section - which will generate some thousands of KWs electricity through a turbine which revolves with the high pressure water volume falls on it. This will fullfil the need of electricity of the city and can make Karachi a real city of lights.

3. An Artificial River Water section - which will suck millions of gellons of the arabian sea water and pour it on the starting point of two major swerage naddees (Malir Naddi and Lyari Naddi), this will make these naddies oderless and eventually it will become entertainment and way of transportation for people. Just like River Thames of London which generates millions of pounds just from ferries.

1) Its OK ...And feasible

2) :doh: :lock: This is a multi billion package as SWERVEUT has said....but still isnt an easy task to do that in Karachi....First of All we dont have much space for power Plant of this sort near the city....Thats why we dont have a single powerplant(in my knowledge) in the city which uses direct water-Mechanical process.....However Steam is feasible but this isnt much feasible as compared to the gas and Coal plants in Karachi....

For instance, we intensly ought to make such plant and the conditions oblige us, we must, however, use the sea water, then I will go for the space near The Cape Monze, however this will minimize the Housing projects possibility out there. A second and the last option is the place near the Pakistan Steel Mills(Bin Qasim Industrial Zone), there's a lot of space intact....
hmmmmm Tell me ....how was this Shaikh Chillis Tikka :D??

3) Projects you are proposing are interesting.....:D You rather seem to be the BAAP of Mustufa Kamal in making the proposals :D:D (No Offense)....Have a look at my arguments...:
If You are talking about Malir Naddi then I couldnt find the way through which you can easily take the water into it.....If you decide to take the water from the Bin Qasim Beach....:) Then you are missing the PORT.....if millions of gallons are daily removed from the PORTSIDE...then the port will be dried out in a few days....or rather have its depth decreased....which is not acceptible in anyway :)......

If You are taking water from the Thatta side.... like the K3 Water project....then behold....it isnt that much easier like the K3....Because you are going to make a Whole river...not just a little canal......
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h76/AmeenAttari/KarachiMalirNaddi.jpg


Now we move on to the Lyari RIVER section of our proposal....:
This seems to be easy...but it isnt in actualll....as the land around your proposed site is mountainous....thus not feasible for such a big project...in which you are going to make RIVER....However CANAL is possible but still expensive......
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h76/AmeenAttari/KArachiLyarinaddi.jpg

So.....Whats up???

Ohhhh One thing I missed....rather forgot:

Malir Naddi used to be a small river.....but it has been used for the drainage of Local sewrage and the rainwater in the monsoon season....

However we cannot regard Lyari Nadi to as a RIVER in anyway.....because it is almost half in the breadth than the MALIR NADDI.....And its purely a drain/storm water canal....So think about it....when you are already running the sewrage+YOUR PROPOSED RIVER WATER thourgh it, what would the RAIN WATER cause for the citizens...when the Naddi is already fulll

I have seen the lyari Naddi in the rains....It runs like any small river, like those in the Northern areas.....It runs very terribly in rains......think about it....

Wont It flood the surroundings when SEWRAGE+RAIN+RIVER water runs through it at the same time......:D

@FahadKhan

Nope, I don't play it, though I intend to in the future.

@Everyone else

I said $250 million, because I thought that's how much it probably gets right now. I don't have any figures though. But if you want more money, I think I can arrange.

Additions to my list:

1. Start work on KMTP. I'd spend $100 million / year.
2. Rest of the money - Improve roads.

Now regarding the water problem, I also used to think it was a major problem until I started taking my French classes. This French teacher was living in an apartment block. One day he came and seemed almost startled that a guy washed his car twice everyday. And then he told that he'd be killed (proverbially, not literally) for doing that in France. Then I started looking around, and realized how much water we just waste. He also gave several other examples. His solution (also mine) : Tax the fuck out of people on water. If you are such dumbfucks as not to realize the importance of water, you don't deserve it. Go run crying to your mommy that the government taxes you. I don't care. Ever since, I've really started caring how much water I use, and I don't waste any. Believe me, there's more than enough water in Karachi if we don't waste it. Unless when there's a drought or something.

A bit off topic here but does anyone else play SC?

We can have a different topic and post pictures of the cities and regions, if anyone even plays that here!

Well you know I play it

I play it, but I havent been getting time to do so recently. I have been playing from its very first edition which was released for SNES! That one is the best! My most densely populated city reached 1.2 million! Awesome game indeed!

Fahad, do you play Rush Hour with the Network Addon Mod? Heres a very useful site for the people who do play it, www.simtropolis.com. You can get everything for your game from there.

We know about simtropolis...

I said $250 million, because I thought that's how much it probably gets right now. I don't have any figures though. But if you want more money, I think I can arrange.

haha that sounds funny.



Now regarding the water problem, I also used to think it was a major problem until I started taking my French classes. This French teacher was living in an apartment block. One day he came and seemed almost startled that a guy washed his car twice everyday. And then he told that he'd be killed (proverbially, not literally) for doing that in France. Then I started looking around, and realized how much water we just waste. He also gave several other examples. His solution (also mine) : Tax the fuck out of people on water. If you are such dumbfucks as not to realize the importance of water, you don't deserve it. Go run crying to your mommy that the government taxes you. I don't care. Ever since, I've really started caring how much water I use, and I don't waste any. Believe me, there's more than enough water in Karachi if we don't waste it. Unless when there's a drought or something.


Actually, I think most Karachiites already realize the value of water cause they have to call tankers every few days. For the few that dont, the rest of the citizens should make it their duty to criticise them publicly when they see them doing so.


A bit off topic here but does anyone else play SC?

We can have a different topic and post pictures of the cities and regions, if anyone even plays that here!

I used to play Sim City, till I stopped having any more time to do it. I built half the island of Manhattan once in Sim City 4.

Yaar Swerveut....They realise the VALUE of a tanker.....but when are getting thewater in the lines...they dont care of it....I have seen this all several hundred times....even in Gulshan-e-Iqbal.....Whenever the water supply is on....the residents switch the pump on and go to the bed....Consequences: The roads and streets are flooded..with clean/fresh drinking water!!!!!

The purpose of this thread is to discuss Karachi. Allot of people have allot of misunderstanding about Karachi, those of us who are from Karachi and have witnessed its downfall first hand can contribute allot to removing these misunderstanding of our fellow citizens!

I invite everyone to participate in this thread. At the same time I advise caution! Please donot make this thread into a dumbass "City vs. City" flame-a-thon! I urge the Mods to take action against any person who tries to deviate from the subject of the thread.

The above mentioned all reason might have contributed to a bit to the down fall of Karachi but to me the biggest single reason for it was: 'The people of Karachi failed to produce a compitant political leadership and instead backed a party (namely MQM) which has a very narrow and shallow philospght and which failed to protect the interests of Karachi.

1. 'Civil war' was not imposed on Karachi. It was a result of MQM creating a parallel govt and giving a free hands to the thugs and mafia. The situation was so grave that even Police and army officer were kidnapped and killed. If govt of Pakistan HAD to do any operation to rescue karachi from these elements then you can not blame anyone else but MQM's leadership

MQM is a brainchild of Zia ul Haq! MQM came into existence for the sole purpose of countering the PPP's influence in Sindh. Later on when MQM got out of hand and became a bit too powerful then the army stepped in again and created another party within the MQM called "Haqiqi group" and the original MQM became "Altaf Group". Finally when Musharraf came into power he saw that the Haqiqi group did not wield any influence in Karachi except in the "No-go areas" of Malir, so Musharraf eradicated the Haqiqi group and brought MQM into the mainstream because they wielded significant influence among the masses of Karachi and they could not be sidelined. Sidelining them would bring about another power struggle in Karachi which Karachi could obviously not afford at any cost.

So yes, conflict was thrusted upon Karachi, MQM was a brainchild of the military and theres no denying that fact.

2. Karachi was no baase camp for Afghan war, that is a wrong fact. The base camp was Peshawar. and if you think that drugs and weapons were only available in Karachi at the time then please check the old newspaper. Try to get into any other city of Pakistan and you will find drugs and weapons openly everywhere. The effect of war could be seen all parts of pakistan so claiming that it contributed to down fall of karachi is wrong.

During the Afghan conflict when foreigners were coming from all over the world to fight in Afghhanistan against the Soviets, they used to come to Karachi first and then go to Peshawar. All the drugs that funded the war and the weapons first landed in Karachi because of which Karachi had become a den for militarism and extremism. The Afghan conflict ruined many cities of Pakistan, most badly hurt were Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta and these cities are still reeling from the effects of that war till today.


3. you must be referring to nationalisation here. my dear friend to pretend that nationalisation process was carried out only in Karachi is being very naive. It was done across Pakistan included Karachi.

Nationalism was indeed carried out all over Pakistan and it hurt many people, theres no denying that fact. Karachi was also were badly hit. the shipping industry was one of the industries that was ruined because of Nationalism. Another major loss to Karachi came when the Memon population of Karachi fled to Dubai in the Bhutto era because of injustice and opression. The Memons were and still are the richest people in Karachi. Most of the big name businesses are owned by them and because of Bhutto's policies a large population of memons fled to Dubai and took their money with them. That was one of the major losses that Karachi suffered in the Bhutto era.

Here is another fact for thos who blame the downfall of karachi to be because karachi outsider....3-4 years ago, The president of Pakistan (Musharaf), the prime minister of Pakistan (Shukat aziz), The chief justice of Pakistan (saeed u zaman siddiqui) and Army Chief (Musharaf)...the four most power full posts of Pakistan were are represented by Karachi. show karachi people are have the power to change situation i they wanted.

Yes and Musharraf initiated the Tameer-e-Karachi programme underwhich 39 billion rupees were earmarked for development in the city. Musharraf deserves full credit for all the development work that is being done in Karachi today. Had it not been for his political will and willingness to save Karachi from the mess it was fast becoming, Karachi would have never seen better days. They might be a nuisance when they visit Karachi resulting in a supermassive citywide traffic jam due to their security arrangement, but make no mistake, had it not been for Musharraf then Naimatullah Khan or Mustafa Kamal would not have achieved anything!

More recently MQM is part of Sindh and central govts (for 5 years), have sindh governer and city goverment...... and they still cry for not being given the power..... and whenever something bad happen put the blame on army, opposition or punjabis!

MQM is indeed in the central government but the Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim who is from the Q league, is the problem. He is the reason why MQM is always bitching and moaning about powersharing.

Guys it is time to accept people can do a honest self review and start changing things within.

Not honest enough, in my opinion.

Originally posted by Newyork-Wala
Has anything at all improved since Musharaf came around?
And why is Karachis budget smaller then Lahores? Who fault is this?

Things have definately turned around since the arrival of Musharraf. The unfair distribution of development funds is a major bone of contention amongst the people of Karachi but slowly things are getting better.

Karachi's grievances are starting to be answered, espescially with the initiation of the Tameer-e-Karachi programme which was initiated by President Musharraf back in Naimatullah Khans time. Initially 29 Billion Rupees were set aside for the Tameer-e-Karachi package and then in the previous year the figure was increased to 42 Billion, if I'm not mistaken.

Tameer-e-Karachi package mainly focused on the development of sewage infrastructure, improving and building new roads, flyovers, underpasses and to develop all the other basic needs of the city which were neglected in the past.

So yeah, some discrepencies have definately existed in the past but slowly things are getting better, Mashallah.

Things have definately turned around since the arrival of Musharraf. The unfair distribution of development funds is a major bone of contention amongst the people of Karachi but slowly things are getting better.

Karachi's grievances are starting to be answered, espescially with the initiation of the Tameer-e-Karachi programme which was initiated by President Musharraf back in Naimatullah Khans time. Initially 29 Billion Rupees were set aside for the Tameer-e-Karachi package and then in the previous year the figure was increased to 42 Billion, if I'm not mistaken.

Tameer-e-Karachi package mainly focused on the development of sewage infrastructure, improving and building new roads, flyovers, underpasses and to develop all the other basic needs of the city which were neglected in the past.

So yeah, some discrepencies have definately existed in the past but slowly things are getting better, Mashallah.
I am just angry over the poor quality of the new infastructure.:ohno:

I am just angry over the poor quality of the new infastructure.:ohno:

As far as the shoddy construction quality is concerned, yes that is something I and anyonelse would agree on. Mustafa Kamal not only rushed the contractor to finish the job early to gain some browny points from the public but he also chose a blacklisted contractor to carry out the job. Mustafa Kamal definately needs to be held accountable for his questionable practices and THATS PUTTING IT LIGHTLY! Someone needs to kick his ass.

I wanted to also contribute my :2cents: towards the whole discussion of the Hassan Square Flyover.

If you think about it, there is all the space required to build a huge interchange, well maybe not huge but something in which every direction of traffic flows freely, but why do you think they didnt do so? It is because finance is not available! Karachi is a massive city and they have allot of things to do and if they spend a big chunk of money on a bloody interchange then what will the people of Lyari do, who, for the most part, are still without a sewage system!?!?!

Which is why unless there is a Bill Gates sitting amongst us who is willing to donate a generous amount towards the construction of an interchange, the critics of the Hasan Square flyover need to shutup and be thankful of what has been made there. Inshallah in the future an Underpass will be made at the site (which is as planned) so traffic going to and from Old Sabzi Mandi towards Nipa will be through the underpass, The traffic going to and from National Stadium to N.Nazimabad will use the flyover and all the turns will be on an At-Grade intersection.

People like myself who always try to focus on the half full part of the glass do so because Pakistan is not a rich country where the best of the best could be made. Karachi's development budget as compared to its size and population is no where near what it should be, and when you have parts of the city without water and in some cases (Lyari, where a massive part of our population lives) without a sewage system, then it really does not make sense nor is just to the the people of such areas.

Moreover, what percentage of the 15 million+ population of Karachi own cars? This might and most probably is a very weak argument, but an argument nonetheless that, investing in the comfort of a small percentage of the population at such a stage when that same money could be used in more vital and basic needs in other parts of Karachi, is not feasible.

What say you Umais?

Originally posted by Moazzam
Buddy I was in lahore tomarrow... just came back, and i took pictures as well, some of my pictures of lahore will disapoint u too... bad pictures doesnt mean all the city is in bad shape.... didnt u see the pictures of II chundrigher road, shahra-e-faisal, KPT, Port Qasim, site and korangi industrial area, these areas generates revenue for pakistan. See the google earth images of karachi and compare it with any other city, even with lahore... u will see the difference... karachi is mostly well planned and has good infrastucture then others. Well about roads of karachi... i have posted the pictures of roads and figure out ur self...

Every city has rundown and shabby parts, I can show you pictures of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and many more which are a testament to that fact. Deeming a city an "abomination" by looking at bad pictures doesnt do justice to that city now does it?

I think Lahore is one of the most beautiful cities in Pakistan, now if I take a picture of a rundown area of old Lahore which is not paid much attention by the city planners anymore and I say that Lahore is a monstrosity, then it wouldnt do any justice to the city now would it?

I think we need to refrain from such comments.

secondly i dont think lahore's budget is higher then karachi... because i didnt see any development work going on in lahore... beleive me infrastructure and traffic condition is worst in lahore... every where there is traffic jams because of narrow roads and donkey carts, even new lahore which has wider roads with descent traffic get jammed for hours. I dont know why city governoment is not planning any new overheads like karachi.. At least in karachi we have many underpasses and flyovers comming up every month and roads being recarpeted. And Karachi has less treffic problem because it has wider roads almost every where. some bad pictures doesnt mean that hole city is in bad shape..

Budget is not just for development, there are many aspects of a city's budget. For example when a road or some civic facility is built in Karachi, it is left without any maintenance until it is broken and then it is built again. In Lahore, the city government actually spends allot of money on upkeep of the civic facilities, which is why Lahores Roads and other infrastructure doesnt breakdown like Karachi's does. Everytime I went to Lahore I saw that the roads in Lahore and the parks and even the green patches between roads are very well maintained and I was impressed, espescially in the Gulberg area
(which is where I always go).

I dont know about Lahori traffic because at the time I last went there, it was no where near as bad as it is in Karachi today. I went there by train and I remember the train broke down just outside of Lahore, so everyone got off the train and took a bus to the city limits from where we transferred to public transport (daewoo's) and it took us less than 20 minutes to reach our destination in Gulberg, try doing that in Karachi! :lol:

But hey, both Lahore and Karachi are cities of Pakistan and we all should be happy for development work being carried out in every city. We shouldnt start a juvenile d*ck measuring contest everytime someone has something negetive to say about a city, instead you should remove their misunderstandings through debate and reasoning.

Well Lahore has the longer minar for now but when Karachi's minar is erected then it'll be there for the whole world to see.

Well Lahore has the longer minar for now but when Karachi's minar is erected then it'll be there for the whole world to see.



:?

Well Lahore has the longer minar for now but when Karachi's minar is erected then it'll be there for the whole world to see.

hahahahahahahahahahahaha:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Well Lahore has the longer minar for now but when Karachi's minar is erected then it'll be there for the whole world to see.

Very well said.

Lahore and Karachi can not be compared due to obvious reasons, I do not want to elaborate because some people call it cursing.

However I must say, anothor problem with Karachi is its provincial govt, nobody feels proud of this city or having it part of Sindh. In Punjab, Lahore is seen as the symbol of Punjab.

Also the attidudes in the Punjab are very good towards development. This is the only reason why I support Pervaiz Elahi in the Punjab. You will hear radio ads such as "School Mein Pahro, Punjab Ko Roshandar Karo". I wish they did this in the Sindh and Karachi as well. We really need campaigns like these.

Well Lahore has the longer minar for now but when Karachi's minar is erected then it'll be there for the whole world to see.

Well in the mean time feel free to borrow Lahor's MINAR!!.....hahaha

Just kidding........:)

Very well said.

Lahore and Karachi can not be compared due to obvious reasons, I do not want to elaborate because some people call it cursing.

However I must say, anothor problem with Karachi is its provincial govt, nobody feels proud of this city or having it part of Sindh. In Punjab, Lahore is seen as the symbol of Punjab.

Please elaborate, thats what this thread is made for. As far as provincial government is concerned, you are right, the Sindhi elitists will never acknowledge Karachi, because they see it as Muhajirs taking over a city in their province. Unfortunately, such poor souls dont understand that Jinnah made Pakistan for all the Muslims of India and that India included present day Pakistan. Unfortunately all elitists see Muhajirs as "encroaching" upon their land, they need to read the history books again and stop blindly believing in the ill-concieved political dogma their elders have been preaching them their whole life.

Unfortunately there is nothing you or I can say that can change the way these people think. By not accepting Karachi for its worth, the provincial govenrment of Sindh is only hurting itself. Karachi will progress whether they or anyonelse likes it or not. Every citizen of Pakistan is an equal citizen and it is not upto a few misguided souls to deny anyone their rights.

Also the attidudes in the Punjab are very good towards development. This is the only reason why I support Pervaiz Elahi in the Punjab. You will hear radio ads such as "School Mein Pahro, Punjab Ko Roshandar Karo". I wish they did this in the Sindh and Karachi as well. We really need campaigns like these.

Would be better if they said that in Punjabi. Dammit we are losing our language and thus our heritage. Pakistani Punjabis are a laughing stock for the Punjabis across the border. How many Pathans or Balochis or Sindhis have you walked into that actually speak urdu and urdu only, not their mother tongue, to their children. I believe that Urdu is important infact VERY important but we should make sure that Punjabi isnt driven into extinction by Punjabis themselves. :bash:

"School ich Pahro tay Punjab noh Roshan Karo"-- much better :)

Anyways good thread ooga.....we should have one in the world/skybar fourms about Pakistan to clear misconceptions.

Anyways good thread ooga.....we should have one in the world/skybar fourms about Pakistan to clear misconceptions.

Thats a good idea, but we would have to man it with "sentry's" all the time :lol: There will have to be someone present in that thread at all times to counter the bullshit!:lol:

Would be better if they said that in Punjabi. Dammit we are losing our language and thus our heritage. Pakistani Punjabis are a laughing stock for the Punjabis across the border. How many Pathans or Balochis or Sindhis have you walked into that actually speak urdu and urdu only, not their mother tongue, to their children. I believe that Urdu is important infact VERY important but we should make sure that Punjabi isnt driven into extinction by Punjabis themselves. :bash:

"School ich Pahro tay Punjab noh Roshan Karo"-- much better :)
Who gives a crap!

This country needs to lose these ethnicities and slowly integrate. We can not remain a country otherwise.

Thats a good idea, but we would have to man it with "sentry's" all the time There will have to be someone present in that thread at all times to counter the bullshit!
I could make the thread and therefore, moderate it and prevent problems from popping up.:)

Pakistani Punjabis are a laughing stock for the Punjabis across the border.

Since when has it become so important what the sardars think?

Language, or the lack of it, is indeed a major problem going back to the coming of the British. For at least 500 years Farsi was the official language of India and remained so till it was abolished in 1843. If it wasn’t for the British Farsi would have been the official language of all of India.

Since independence the devaluation of Urdu in Pakistan almost matches what happened to it in India. There they changed it a bit and renamed it Hindi. In Pakistan Urdu was never accepted so today English is still the official language of Pakistan. Urdu's status is only barely better than that of any other local language.

Every developed or advanced developing country has made progress in its own language. China has hundreds of languages but their official language is Mandarin, and they’re making all their scientific and economic progress using Mandarin.

Pakistan however remains a country without a language. Maybe one solution could be to blend all the languages of Pakistan together and call it Pakistani. Who knows?

You are right that the official language of pakistan is English but the national language is URdu therefore you need to know both english and urdu if you need to be in the government.

Lets not make this a language comparision thread please ;)

Would be better if they said that in Punjabi. Dammit we are losing our language and thus our heritage. Pakistani Punjabis are a laughing stock for the Punjabis across the border. How many Pathans or Balochis or Sindhis have you walked into that actually speak urdu and urdu only, not their mother tongue, to their children. I believe that Urdu is important infact VERY important but we should make sure that Punjabi isnt driven into extinction by Punjabis themselves. :bash:

"School ich Pahro tay Punjab noh Roshan Karo"-- much better :)

I don't think so, Pakistani punjabis in Canada have registered themselves as punjabis and also registered punjabi as their mother tongue while submitting their immigration papers. So sorry to say, they did not try to act politically, however sikhs banked big time on this influx of punjabis and now punjabis are Canada's 4th largest ethnic group, however in writing it is gurumukhi punjabi which I must say 75% of punjabis dod not know as in Pakistan it is written in Shahmukhi-or the script of maharaja Ranjit Singh. So sad, we lost the opportunity now all indian sikh orgianisations are well represented and get the funding while majority of punjabis are from Pakistan side which makes 75% of world's punjabi population.

Who gives a crap!

This country needs to lose these ethnicities and slowly integrate. We can not remain a country otherwise.


I could make the thread and therefore, moderate it and prevent problems from popping up.:)

UP no offence but it is such a molvi attitude towards ethnicities in Pakistan, I guess Pakistan also means the diverse gene pool of ethnicities and also give color to our culture, traditions, life and food. We will always be a country as long as we do not persecute almost everyone who do not belong to a certain group. Give rights to people would keep this country united.

UP no offence but it is such a molvi attitude towards ethnicities in Pakistan, I guess Pakistan also means the diverse gene pool of ethnicities and also give color to our culture, traditions, life and food. We will always be a country as long as we do not persecute almost everyone who do not belong to a certain group. Give rights to people would keep this country united.
That is not a uniting factor!

People say Islam keeps Pakistan united but take a look at how our religious ulema acts. Take a look how our own people act...

We must integrate slowly or die out one province at a time.

You people are only promoting sectionalism if you do not integrate the masses so we have our own identity.

It would be better if the capital of sindh is moved to hyderabad or larkana? while karachi becomes a free port like that of hong kong.

New york is not the capital of NY nor chicago is capital of Illinois. Moving the capital to a small city not only pumps money in there but also the security of the city is much easier to maintain. They have done it in the US.

It would be better if the capital of sindh is moved to hyderabad or larkana? while karachi becomes a free port like that of hong kong.

New york is not the capital of NY nor chicago is capital of Illinois. Moving the capital to a small city not only pumps money in there but also the security of the city is much easier to maintain. They have done it in the US.

That's a great idea. Lets move the provincial capitals out of Karachi, Peshawar, Lahore and Quetta to smaller towns in order to allow them to develop instead of just the big cities.

It would be better if the capital of sindh is moved to hyderabad or larkana? while karachi becomes a free port like that of hong kong.

New york is not the capital of NY nor chicago is capital of Illinois. Moving the capital to a small city not only pumps money in there but also the security of the city is much easier to maintain. They have done it in the US.

Thats an idea.

The provincial capital should always be where the history and traditions of that province are based on.

I'm sure when Pakistan was created, Karachi would have been a better choice, but now since Karachi has virtually expanded in every direction, and has nearly lost its historic areas to construction, traffic and pollution, it would be a good choice to shift the provincial capital to somewhere else to keep Sindh's (or any other Province for that matter) culture and history alive.

However I must say, anothor problem with Karachi is its provincial govt, nobody feels proud of this city or having it part of Sindh. In Punjab, Lahore is seen as the symbol of Punjab.

I don't think so, there is a huge population of nonsindhis in rural sindh and all of them are not only proud but have some heart feelings for Karachi when something goes wrong over there.I knew it because i used to go Mirpurkhas on my uncle's Farm House 4 or 5 years ago.May be sindhi speaking people are not happy with karachi.

Fighter,

Stop pulling out the usual bullcrap...

And for the rest of you just dont even try to respond to such nonsense when I am a PM away.

For some odd reason, Gup Shupp has been opening for me in the past few days so I wasnt able to reply.

Anyways, what we need (as PIA puts it) is "UNITY IN DIVERSITY".

Being different doesnt mean that we cant be united. Being different is what makes us unique. We cant let our multicultural society vanish or on the other hand break apart because of the differences people have amongst each other. There is a very fine balance that can and should be maintained.

I think that this is a dilemma not only in Pakistan but throughout the Muslim world. People cant live with each other because they have a different ethnicity, language, culture, or even if they belong to a different sect of Islam.

And assimliating all the different cultures/ethnic groups of Pakistan into one, uniform one is not the solution. And the word solution reminds that this assimiliation is no different from The Final Solution which sought to create a uniform society. We would be destroying our heritage ourselves.

And yes URDU IS VERY IMPORTANT as it is our national language. But how hard is it to speak Urdu, English, and your local/traditional language? Not that hard is it?

One of the main reasons why Pakistan lacks unity amongst its ethnicities is because of the elitest element present in our country. If we are to progress as a nation then we need to take stringent measures against such elitest mentality.

Furthermore, the mistreatment of provinces in the past has also sown the seeds of hatred among the mistreated provinces, Balochistan being the prime example. Pakistan needs more provinces, Punjab needs to be broken up, so does Sindh. One can only hope that this is done during Musharrafs time.

I already explained why I have told you to remove that example. Basically, everyone is led to dead end because countering the example would be breaking the rules. Therefore, giving you a unfair edge in this discussion.

Refrences towards India have been removed. Please, guys believe me this is for the better as otherwise it prevents fair and balanced discussion.

Also this thread is about Karachi so I am not sure why we went offtopic.

Damn you UP! :rant:

*Casts UP's soul into hell*

:tongue3:

Has that not already been done?:rofl:

Also I just finished Techno's last batch of Khi!

I am happy to say the last batch made me very happy!:banana:

One of the main reasons why Pakistan lacks unity amongst its ethnicities is because of the elitest element present in our country. If we are to progress as a nation then we need to take stringent measures against such elitest mentality.

Furthermore, the mistreatment of provinces in the past has also sown the seeds of hatred among the mistreated provinces, Balochistan being the prime example.

Spot on

Yes, what happened in the past was the past. We need to learn to move on and learn from our mistakes otherwise, this situation will continue without any end in sight.

Has that not already been done?:rofl:

Also I just finished Techno's last batch of Khi!

I am happy to say the last batch made me very happy!:banana:

Well where are the bloody pictures then?

He is posting them at his pace with details and descriptions.

UP no offence but it is such a molvi attitude towards ethnicities in Pakistan, I guess Pakistan also means the diverse gene pool of ethnicities and also give color to our culture, traditions, life and food. We will always be a country as long as we do not persecute almost everyone who do not belong to a certain group. Give rights to people would keep this country united.

Spot on! And people who bang on about sectionalism being caused by difference in cultures, traditions or ethnicities should know that sectionalism in Pakistan is due to the rift between Sunnis and Shias.

Karachi's Role in the National Economy:

Karachi generates about 15 % of the national GDP, 42% of value added in large scale manufacturing and 25 % of the revenues of the Federal Government.

http://www.karachicity.gov.pk/eip-main.asp

Karachi generates about 15 % of the national GDP.

^^^
Is that true? Coz if it is, then Karachi needs to shut up and stop acting like it's the revenue generating machine of Pakistan. It has 10% of the population, so it's not big deal that it generates just 15% of the GDP. I thought the figure was something like 35-40%. That's always the impression I used to get from the self-important Karachiites.

[QUOTE=TraPPed;11315324]Spot on! And people who bang on about sectionalism being caused by difference in cultures, traditions or ethnicities should know that sectionalism in Pakistan is due to the rift between Sunnis and Shias.

Movis are the major problem Pakistan has been lagging behind.

Karachi generates about 15 % of the national GDP.

^^^
Is that true? Coz if it is, then Karachi needs to shut up and stop acting like it's the revenue generating machine of Pakistan. It has 10% of the population, so it's not big deal that it generates just 15% of the GDP. I thought the figure was something like 35-40%. That's always the impression I used to get from the self-important Karachiites.
You just hit the nail in the head there! At least now the facts have come out so they can not make the 65% claim again.

Spot on! And people who bang on about sectionalism being caused by difference in cultures, traditions or ethnicities should know that sectionalism in Pakistan is due to the rift between Sunnis and Shias.

Karachi's Role in the National Economy:

Karachi generates about 15 % of the national GDP, 42% of value added in large scale manufacturing and 25 % of the revenues of the Federal Government.

http://www.karachicity.gov.pk/eip-main.asp

Sources please?

Almost all the major multinational tax paying companies are situated in Karachi, the countries only seaports are in Karachi (with the exception of Gwadar because its not functioning yet), the countries major airport is in Karachi (not to take anything away from the beautiful Lahore airport), Pakistans golden mile is in Karachi (I.I Chundrigar Rd.) which has all the big players in the banking industry, among other institutions which aren't coming to my mind right now, and despite all that Karachi only creates 15% GDP and 25% revenue? Call me whatever you want but thats bollocks.

I espescially have doubts about Revenue percentage! Because the major industry of Punjab is agriculture and taxes arent levied on agriculture. Then we have Faisalabad which is big in textile and most of the finished textile products come from Faisalabad but how much percentage do they contribute to the Federal coffers? Can't be more than 15 percent right? Or maybe even 20%! That still leaves us with 55% of the federal revenue unaccounted for, now you cant possibly be telling me that Punjab contributes 55% with its major industry being agriculture?!?!?

Revenue comes from taxes, if you want to find out who contributes the most to taxes just look at the Central Board of Revenue's figures and you will see who is contributing to the countries coffers the most.

So yeah, some sources would be appreciated.

The trouble is the total lack of authentic, verifiable statistics in Pakistan.

Nowadays the govt. personalities are claiming that Pakistan's GDP is $120 billion and the per capita income $850, but the website of the Federal Bureau of Statistics (http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/fbs/statistics/national_accounts/table5.pdf) states that Pakistan's GDP is $ 80 billion and the per capita income $524 (after converting from Rs.).

So is the Prime Minister lying?

Similarly, when the last census took place, through a policy of deliberate undercounting Karachi's population was shown to be 9 million at a time when everyone estimated it to be over 12 million. They did not count the Afghans, the Bengalis and many other types of people who use the resources of the city.

Whatever the true figure for the GDP, Karachi is a net contributor to the rest of the country not a receiver. Karachi is a city of immigrants and whatever there is in Karachi was built by the sweat and tears of all the immigrants, wherever they came from and no one was ever handed over anything on a silver platter. And Karachi is not asking for special favors, it's just asking to be left alone.

I'll just mention a couple of other points: All through the 70's and 80's during Bhutto and Zia's time NO industry was allowed in Karachi. You had to get a govt. "sanction" to put up a factory and NONE were given for Karachi. That's why businessmen had to go to Hub, Nooriabad, NWFP etc. or much more conveniently, do nothing or leave Pakistan.

A very big percentage of the Karachi elite have left the country. Probably more people from Karachi NEVER come back than from other cities. This is because few people have the time, patience or inclination to spend all their lives fighting the rest of the country that seems to be forever hostile to Karachi.

Karachi generates about 15 % of the national GDP.

^^^
Is that true? Coz if it is, then Karachi needs to shut up and stop acting like it's the revenue generating machine of Pakistan. It has 10% of the population, so it's not big deal that it generates just 15% of the GDP. I thought the figure was something like 35-40%. That's always the impression I used to get from the self-important Karachiites.

Aren't you a karachiite as well? I mean you live there don't you?

Sources please?

Almost all the major multinational tax paying companies are situated in Karachi, the countries only seaports are in Karachi (with the exception of Gwadar because its not functioning yet), the countries major airport is in Karachi (not to take anything away from the beautiful Lahore airport), Pakistans golden mile is in Karachi (I.I Chundrigar Rd.) which has all the big players in the banking industry, among other institutions which aren't coming to my mind right now, and despite all that Karachi only creates 15% GDP and 25% revenue? Call me whatever you want but thats bollocks.

I espescially have doubts about Revenue percentage! Because the major industry of Punjab is agriculture and taxes arent levied on agriculture. Then we have Faisalabad which is big in textile and most of the finished textile products come from Faisalabad but how much percentage do they contribute to the Federal coffers? Can't be more than 15 percent right? Or maybe even 20%! That still leaves us with 55% of the federal revenue unaccounted for, now you cant possibly be telling me that Punjab contributes 55% with its major industry being agriculture?!?!?

Revenue comes from taxes, if you want to find out who contributes the most to taxes just look at the Central Board of Revenue's figures and you will see who is contributing to the countries coffers the most.

So yeah, some sources would be appreciated.
He gave a link to the Karachi city government website. That is a AUTHENTIC source because it is from the City Government of Karachi. Any other sources quoting other numbers should be seen as conflicting ONLY if another government statistic or site has a diffrent figure.

City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has said the city of Karachi is being generating 68 percent revenue for Pakistan and incorporating its revenue for the development projects in the country and also has a unique important role in the country. The increasing number of uplift projects and providing maximum facilities to the citizens would increase its revenue as the development projects in the city are for country’s prosperity.


http://www.karachicity.gov.pk/eventnewsdetails.asp?sid=24

City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has said the city of Karachi is being generating 68 percent revenue for Pakistan and incorporating its revenue for the development projects in the country and also has a unique important role in the country. The increasing number of uplift projects and providing maximum facilities to the citizens would increase its revenue as the development projects in the city are for country’s prosperity.
http://www.karachicity.gov.pk/eventnewsdetails.asp?sid=24

For instance, there are a total of 18 customs clearance points in the country including 4 which are located in Karachi — two at the Port of Karachi and one each at Port Qasim and Quaid-e-Azam International Airport. Though only 4 out of 18 customs clearance houses are located in Karachi, 50 per cent of all the customs revenue is generated in Karachi.
http://www.pakistaneconomist.com/database1/cover/c2002-62.asp

Interesting that we have conflicting figures on the same damn website.

Interesting that we have conflicting figures on the same damn website.

See what I mean?

Correction:

The link I posted to the Fed. Bureau of Stat. was the wrong one. It was in 'constant factor cost'. The correct one is here and it shows Pakistan's GNP at $124 billion and per capita at $800:

http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/fbs/statistics/national_accounts/table4.pdf

As the saying goes: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics".

Why so much fuss over how much khi generates, why not live with the fact that Khi is the economic engine and commercial capital for Pakistan and lets promote it this way. Why it is so hard to swallow.

Why so much fuss over how much khi generates, why not live with the fact that Khi is the economic engine and commercial capital for Pakistan and lets promote it this way. [B]Why it is so hard to swallow.
Your attidude is also wrong as you are bringing more sectionalism into the thread when no one meant any harm at all!

I know everyones views on this forum and no one here who can post has these anti Khi feelings.:bash:

One of the main reasons why Pakistan lacks unity amongst its ethnicities is because of the elitest element present in our country. If we are to progress as a nation then we need to take stringent measures against such elitest mentality.

Furthermore, the mistreatment of provinces in the past has also sown the seeds of hatred among the mistreated provinces, Balochistan being the prime example. Pakistan needs more provinces, Punjab needs to be broken up, so does Sindh. One can only hope that this is done during Musharrafs time.

Agreed 100% We need to divide all the provinces into smaller entities, otherwise, we will keep bikering over ethnicities and slowly die out. Even now, a lot of people here play the game of ethnic superiority just because they are Jats, Syeds, Rajputs and what not. It is totally disgusting. You wanna say get over your self man!

Karachi generates about 15 % of the national GDP.

^^^
Is that true? Coz if it is, then Karachi needs to shut up and stop acting like it's the revenue generating machine of Pakistan. It has 10% of the population, so it's not big deal that it generates just 15% of the GDP. I thought the figure was something like 35-40%. That's always the impression I used to get from the self-important Karachiites.

Untrue. My mom is in the revenue and income tax department and she knows all this first hand. Punjab even for its massive size isnt a big contributor to national revenue as a lot of it is agricultural and a lot of people there are tax evaders. Karachi generating around 60-70% of the national revenue is always the figure I get from her. And believe me, she knows what she is talking about so I wouldnt question it. The following figure seems most likely to be true:

City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has said the city of Karachi is being generating 68 percent revenue for Pakistan and incorporating its revenue for the development projects in the country and also has a unique important role in the country. The increasing number of uplift projects and providing maximum facilities to the citizens would increase its revenue as the development projects in the city are for country’s prosperity.
http://www.karachicity.gov.pk/eventnewsdetails.asp?sid=24
http://www.pakistaneconomist.com/database1/cover/c2002-62.asp

Sources please?

Almost all the major multinational tax paying companies are situated in Karachi, the countries only seaports are in Karachi (with the exception of Gwadar because its not functioning yet), the countries major airport is in Karachi (not to take anything away from the beautiful Lahore airport), Pakistans golden mile is in Karachi (I.I Chundrigar Rd.) which has all the big players in the banking industry, among other institutions which aren't coming to my mind right now, and despite all that Karachi only creates 15% GDP and 25% revenue? Call me whatever you want but thats bollocks.

I espescially have doubts about Revenue percentage! Because the major industry of Punjab is agriculture and taxes arent levied on agriculture. Then we have Faisalabad which is big in textile and most of the finished textile products come from Faisalabad but how much percentage do they contribute to the Federal coffers? Can't be more than 15 percent right? Or maybe even 20%! That still leaves us with 55% of the federal revenue unaccounted for, now you cant possibly be telling me that Punjab contributes 55% with its major industry being agriculture?!?!?

Revenue comes from taxes, if you want to find out who contributes the most to taxes just look at the Central Board of Revenue's figures and you will see who is contributing to the countries coffers the most.

So yeah, some sources would be appreciated.

Originally posted by Swervuet
Untrue. My mom is in the revenue and income tax department and she knows all this first hand. Punjab even for its massive size isnt a big contributor to national revenue as a lot of it is agricultural and a lot of people there are tax evaders. Karachi generating around 60-70% of the national revenue is always the figure I get from her. And believe me, she knows what she is talking about so I wouldnt question it. The following figure seems most likely to be true:


Like I said in my above post:

Why so much fuss over how much khi generates, why not live with the fact that Khi is the economic engine and commercial capital for Pakistan and lets promote it this way. Why it is so hard to swallow.

Yes I also dont understand all this illogical comparisons of Lahore with Karachi and all this meaningless competition. Its not very hard to accept that Karachi is a MASSIVE city and is one of the biggest cities of the world. We should just treat it as its own separate genre and be proud of it instead of just trying to drive it down and throwing bullshit at it all the time.

One thing is a fact, Karachi has ENORMOUS potential and if developed, it can really lead Pakistan into another age. So why lose all this potential over meaningless city vs city competitions?

My experience till now has been that Karachi belongs to everybody. You can find each and every Pakistani ethnic group in the city in large numbers. We should all be proud of it and strive towards its development.

Yes I also dont understand all this illogical comparisons of Lahore with Karachi and all this meaningless competition. Its not very hard to accept that Karachi is a MASSIVE city and is one of the biggest cities of the world. We should just treat it as its own separate genre and be proud of it instead of just trying to drive it down and throwing bullshit at it all the time.

One thing is a fact, Karachi has ENORMOUS potential and if developed, it can really lead Pakistan into another age. So why lose all this potential over meaningless city vs city competitions?

My experience till now has been that Karachi belongs to everybody. You can find each and every Pakistani ethnic group in the city in large numbers. We should all be proud of it and strive towards its development.

Amen to that Brotherman! :drunk:

You guys are taking things way too personally!

If I was a elitist punjabi then I wouldnt really give a shit, but I actually do care and thats why I read all the threads on SSC, no matter what city the thread discusses!

Why?

These are all Pakistani cities and their development is something that we should all be proud about!

You guys are taking things way too personally!

If I was a elitist punjabi then I wouldnt really give a shit, but I actually do care and thats why I read all the threads on SSC, no matter what city the thread discusses!

Why?

These are all Pakistani cities and their development is something that we should all be proud about!

Who's taking things personally? I made this thread to debunk false claims and misconceptions about Karachi and thats what Swervuet and I are doing.

And yes, we all appreciate your efforts towards keeping this forum civilized......... Now shutup and get back to work! :lol:

This is Karachi discussion not Sectionalism discussion so please shutup and get back to providing more Karachi content to this thread.:D

This is Karachi discussion not Sectionalism discussion so please shutup and get back to providing more Karachi content to this thread.:D

Well its not for content "einstein", its for people to pose such questions so that the Karachiites can give them a fair and balanced view of whats really going on since we live or lived there and are better aware of the socio-economic condition of Karachi.

Have they fixed the drainage issues in Karachi yet? Have they made any attempts to fix it?

Have they fixed the drainage issues in Karachi yet? Have they made any attempts to fix it?

The City Government has started work on a massive underground drain in Clifton which is actually being built by a Chinese company and will forever eliminate Clifton's stormwater drainage woes.

Besides that, all the new roads are being built with stormwater drains and I have heard that the KPT Underpass's water pumps have been fixed, ofcourse we will findout whether that is true in the next monsoon season :P

As someone earlier reported, the Nazimabad Underpass was completely dry in recent rains so looks like it is immune to being flooded by torrential rains.

Yes UP, you have been doing a very good job of moderating the Pakistan section, along with Farad of course. So well done.

By the way, how come there's so much less activity related to Lahore and other places? Has all that action moved to UrbanPK?

Yes UP, you have been doing a very good job of moderating the Pakistan section, along with Farad of course. So well done.

By the way, how come there's so much less activity related to Lahore and other places? Has all that action moved to UrbanPK?
To be honest UPK doesnt have any updates on Lahore right now either. UPK is stunted at this point because of a change in direction that some may like...:)

Right now, I am also busy in a important phase of my life.

Your attidude is also wrong as you are bringing more sectionalism into the thread when no one meant any harm at all!

I know everyones views on this forum and no one here who can post has these anti Khi feelings.:bash:

UP you got it all wrong man, I did not raise the issue of sectionalism. In my comment-I simply asked why we have to waste our time on this issue of how much and no more hangovers

Have they fixed the drainage issues in Karachi yet? Have they made any attempts to fix it?

They are replacing old, broken and small drain pipes with huge ones, almost every where in karachi... i will post the pictures soon inshallah.

Larraai Larraai maaf karo....SSC ko saaf karo :D
(Dont Fight....Clean SSC) ;)

Larraai Larraai maaf karo....SSC ko saaf karo :D
(Dont Fight....Clean SSC) ;)

Could'nt agree more!

No one is fighting!

If you guys think this is fighting than some of you really need to take a step outside of your house.

:| yaar this was a traditional poetic sentence that we pakistanis often recite in the childhood.... LARRAI LARRAI MAAF KARO....ALLAAH KA GHAR SAAF KARO.....this is just funny, I wasnt serious while typing that post :) Sorry for that...

UP says this...

Buqwaas Maat Karo app! please Buqwaas maat karo! Meeray saher meh dardh hota hai! Allah kay vaastay CHUP HOJAYO!

UP says this...

Buqwaas Maat Karo app! please Buqwaas maat karo! Meeray saher meh dardh hota hai! Allah kay vaastay CHUP HOJAYO!

Oogabooga kehta hai

Jao urdu seekho aap!

:) ..

Oogabooga kehta hai

Jao urdu seekho aap!
:bash: :bash: :bash: NO OFFICIAL TRANSLITERATION!:bash: :bash: :bash:

Actually, when I made that error I was thinking of someone...

Bridges before 1995? They might as well add most bridges after 1995 too and all the bridges after 2004 or 05.
HOLY FUCK!!!!!!!!! (Mods, don't edit it. Read the story, and you'd know why I said it.)

http://geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=10898&param=1

I didn't know I was a prophet.

So how're you today, ooga?

I saw this while it was being built. It did look iffy in quality, but must say, it had the most amout of pillars (someone tell me the correct technical term) I've seen per unit of area.

Also, I'm now taking bets on the next bridge/underpass/etc. that collapses, not just Corridor I.

Don't these stupid idiots do any kind of calculations before building. In order to bring down costs they have built a unsafe flyover and this is the result. This will cost them more money. I hope they go bankrupt.
The city nazim now should make sure that every construction is safe. Otherwise don't build it.

Update

http://geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=10901&param=1

Don't these stupid idiots do any kind of calculations before building. In order to bring down costs they have built a unsafe flyover and this is the result. This will cost them more money. I hope they go bankrupt.
The city nazim now should make sure that every construction is safe. Otherwise don't build it.
Don't get all worked up Archi, we have several more to go.

use Northern Bypass
Sure

Doesn't Chunrigar road have a bridge? If it does, it will probably collapse.

:ohno: NORTHERN BYPASS COLLAPSES....:bash: :bash:

http://www.geo.tv/important_events/karachi_bridge_falls/gallery/pic06.jpg

http://www.geo.tv/important_events/karachi_bridge_falls/gallery/pic05.jpg

http://www.geo.tv/important_events/karachi_bridge_falls/gallery/pic04.jpg

http://www.geo.tv/important_events/karachi_bridge_falls/gallery/pic03.jpg

http://www.geo.tv/important_events/karachi_bridge_falls/gallery/pic02.jpg

http://www.geo.tv/important_events/karachi_bridge_falls/gallery/pic01.jpg

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/6718/aaj1wx0.jpg

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/8696/aaj3lx3.jpg

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/7985/aaj2xn9.jpg

HOLY FUCK!!!!!!!!! (Mods, don't edit it. Read the story, and you'd know why I said it.)

http://geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=10898&param=1

I didn't know I was a prophet.

So how're you today, ooga?

*digs hole and buries head in it*


:cry:


I'd like to place a bet on the Civic Center flyover please. :colgate:

Please respect threads. There's a thread for pretty much everything.

At least six killed, several injured as road bridge collapses in Karachi KARACHI, Pakistan, Sept 1 (AP) - A recently constructed road bridge collapsed in Karachi on Saturday, killing at least six people and injuring several others, officials said. At least two cars, a police van and a donkey cart were crushed under the heavy masonry. A truck with a trailer and a minibus lay upturned by the 100-meter llong, curved section of the overpass that crashed onto a road about 15 meters below. City mayor Mustafa Kamal said they were using heavy machinery and bulldozers to remove debris and pull out injured people trapped in at least two or three vehicles. Azhar Faruqi, the city police chief, said they had transported two bodies to a hospital, while another two bodies could be seen inside a crushed car. “Witnesses say they saw four or five vehicles on the bridge when it caved in,” he said. Hospital officials reported receiving at least five injured people. Mohammed Iqbal, a survivor who escaped through the window of a small bus that fell from the bridge, told a private TV channel that some other passengers were still trapped in vehicles and under masonry and he had heard their cries for help. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz expressed sorrow over the loss of life and concern over the quality of construction of the bridge which was inaugurated by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in August. “Investigations have been ordered to find the reasons of the collapse and people responsible for substandard construction would be taken to task,” Aziz said in a statement. Bystanders and relatives of those trapped under the rubble were angered by slow rescue efforts and threw stones at police and paramilitary security forces deployed at the scene, injuring two. In response, the security forces baton-charged the crowd. Rescue workers were using diggers to try and excavate one car which was crushed under masonry and had a woman's hand protruding from it. Authorities made announcements requesting the hundreds of onlookers to stay back amid fears that more of the overpass could collapse
Karachi bridge collapse leaves four dead, several injured
KARACHI: A bridge of Northern Bypass at Paracha Chowk in Shershah area of the metropolis, which was opened by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on 6 August 2007, collapsed here Saturday, killing at least four people, injuring several others while trapping an unknown number of people under the debris.

"Four people have died and over a dozen were wounded in the collapse," southern port city police official Khalid Hameed said, adding that several vehicles were trapped in the debris.

However, a person trapped in the debris of the bridge was miraculously rescued. According to Geo News correspondent two dead bodies and three wounded persons have been brought to Civil Hospital Karachi, while four injured have been transferred to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and one inured was shifted to Murhsid hospital.

Rescuers were trying to clear the wreckage to retrieve injured and survivors amid fears the death toll could rise, they said.

Witnesses said a portion of the bridge known as Northern Bypass fell with a huge bang while traffic was on it.

"It created such a huge sound that we thought it was an earthquake," Zahid Khan, a resident of the area said.

Karachi City Nazim Mustapha Kamal said the authorities were investigating the cause of the blast. The bridge was built by the state-run National Highway Authority.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz phoned Governor Sindh Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad to seek details of Karachi bridge collapse, which has left at least four people dead, several injured and an unknown number of people have been trapped in the debris.

The Prime Minister directed Ishrat to take no stone unturned in the relief and rescue activities to help the victims. The injured people should be provided with proper medical care, he directed.

Shaukat Aziz also directed PM Inspection Committee to probe into the incident to ascertain the cause.

Chief minister Sindh Dr. Ghulam Arbab Rahim has expressed deep concern over the tragic incident of the collapse of a part of the northern by-pass bridge in Shershah and said that the persons involved cannot be pardoned.

He said that an impartial investigation of the incident would be made
http://www.geo.tv/geonews/printversion.asp?id=10907

^^ Just learnt that from someone in Pakistan. Absolutely terrible. The responsible murderous greedy bastards who play with others lives should be hanged.

The whole situation is very dismal, nobody cares what happens to common ppl.
Mushy-BB deal is like a reality show Deal or no Deal, Ganja going back or not is like who is the dare devil here, Wana, Balochistan, suicide bombers---I must say what the hell, who are we? Also, how the f**k ~250 soldiers can be kidnapped in their own country and nobody cares. Is our army so weak? NLC built this damn bridge-honestly this is beyond bridge failures in Quebec or Minneapolis. We are nothing but news material these days.

http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/5092/imagesafpah484170529pihal7.jpg

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/1644/imagesafpah485170816pihqm8.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/9003/imagesafpah486173214pihis7.jpg

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/9849/imagesafpah487173709pihce8.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/3254/imagesafpah488173811pihtl8.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/2429/imagesafpah489173915pihzv1.jpg

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/6838/imagesapdataa0c84f962afml9.jpg

Holy macro

Not just one, but both the bridges have collapsed! Look at the other one, it has developed cracks and is leaning to one side! :shocked:

Of course it collapsed. Look at the upper portion, it's freaking heavy, probably coz it was made for ehavy traffic. But look at it! And the pillars were very skinny. A lot of them, but very thin. I had my suspicions when I first saw it, coz it was wayyyyy too much top-heavy, but I thought maybe those numerous pillars would support it. I hope the engineers die a slow, painful death. You can look at these things and tell there's no fucking way it's gonna support the weight.

Ooga, where you got the hi-res pics? Someone from Dalda?

So what is it? The second bridge to collapse in less than a month. First on the first day (Quaidabad), this one a few weeks after it opened for traffic. The only reason Civic Center flyover hasn't is coz there's not much heavy traffic. I'm also taking bets on Baloch Colony flyover to collapse in about 3-4 years time.

Of course it collapsed. Look at the upper portion, it's freaking heavy, probably coz it was made for ehavy traffic. But look at it! And the pillars were very skinny. A lot of them, but very thin. I had my suspicions when I first saw it, coz it was wayyyyy too much top-heavy, but I thought maybe those numerous pillars would support it. I hope the engineers die a slow, painful death. You can look at these things and tell there's no fucking way it's gonna support the weight.

Ooga, where you got the hi-res pics? Someone from Dalda?

So what is it? The second bridge to collapse in less than a month. First on the first day (Quaidabad), this one a few weeks after it opened for traffic. The only reason Civic Center flyover hasn't is coz there's not much heavy traffic. I'm also taking bets on Baloch Colony flyover to collapse in about 3-4 years time.

50 bucks on the Baloch Colony pull please! :colgate:

Of course it collapsed. Look at the upper portion, it's freaking heavy, probably coz it was made for ehavy traffic. But look at it! And the pillars were very skinny. A lot of them, but very thin. I had my suspicions when I first saw it, coz it was wayyyyy too much top-heavy, but I thought maybe those numerous pillars would support it. I hope the engineers die a slow, painful death. You can look at these things and tell there's no fucking way it's gonna support the weight.

Ooga, where you got the hi-res pics? Someone from Dalda?

So what is it? The second bridge to collapse in less than a month. First on the first day (Quaidabad), this one a few weeks after it opened for traffic. The only reason Civic Center flyover hasn't is coz there's not much heavy traffic. I'm also taking bets on Baloch Colony flyover to collapse in about 3-4 years time.


I got the pictures from different "agencies". My cousin who works in GEO sent them to me as soon as he got them from the "Agencies".

OK, here's my analysis, which of course is right.

Refer to the diagram below (there are 4 marked regions).

(A) Look at the thickness of the top part, which is what's normal for most bridges/flyovers in Karachi.
(B) Those thousands of pillars that I talked of.

This means that they can support the bridge.

Now look at (C)
(C) The thickness is about twice or thrice that of (A)!!!
(D) Look closely, there are no pillar throughout the region that fell!!! Look on the uncollapsed side.

So, this is what our genius engineer(s) did - since for some reason he/she/they thought that they didn't want to have pillar on that turn, he/she/they had the brilliant fucking idea to thicken the top so that it's reinforced and would magically support the weight due to its thickness. Even a kid of class 2 won't be as dumb. Also look that the pillar support area is really thin.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/3162/oogarundeemx3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I got the pictures from different "agencies". My cousin who works in GEO sent them to me as soon as he got them from the "Agencies".
OK. Actually, it's the Dalda factory right next to it.

Actually I was recording AAJTV, they were interviewing this Engineer guy who works for Transparency International Pakistan and he was syaing that the NHA hired a "Designer" to "design" these bridges! When they should have hired a proper "Engineer"! How retarded is that?

I have recorded the interview and I am currently in the process of uploading it on Youtube.

My god! :eek2:

KARACHI: The City District Govt. Karachi could not be held be responsible for the Northern Bypass Bridge collapse, said City Nazim Mustafa Kamal, adding that the bridge was constructed by the federal government and the National Highway Authority.

:naughty:

Look at this idiot, he just wants his neck out of it!

God! I f*ing hate YOUTUBE! Does anyone have any otehr site I can upload it at? besides google video!

NO :)

NO :)

Thankyou for your useless input.






































bc

Actually I was recording AAJTV, they were interviewing this Engineer guy who works for Transparency International Pakistan and he was syaing that the NHA hired a "Designer" to "design" these bridges! When they should have hired a proper "Engineer"! How retarded is that?

I have recorded the interview and I am currently in the process of uploading it on Youtube.
6 people confirmed dead.

Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan
Lyrics


jeeevay, jeevay, jeevay, jeevay
jevay, jevay, jevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan, jeevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan, jeevay pakistan

mun panchi jab pankh hila'ay
kia kia sur bikhra'ay hoo
kia kia sur bikhra'ay

sun'nay walay sunein to un mein
aik he dhun lehra'ay ho ho
aik he dhun lehra'ay ho hoo pakistan, pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan

jevay, jevay, jevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan

bikhray howoon ko bichray howoon ko
ik markaz pay laya hoo
ik markaz pay laya

kitnay sitaroon k jhurmat mein suraj bun ker aaya ho hoo
suraj bun ker aaya ho hoo pakistan pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan

jevay, jevay, jevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan, jeevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan, jeevay pakistan

jhail ga'ay dukh jhailnay walay
jhail ga'ay dukh jhailnay walay
ub hai kaam hamara hoo
ub hai kaam hamara

aik rakhein gay, aik rahay ga
aik hai naam hamara hoo
aik hai naam hamara ho hoo pakistan pakistan
pakistan pakistan, jeevay pakistan

jevay, jevay, jevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan

God! I f*ing hate YOUTUBE! Does anyone have any otehr site I can upload it at? besides google video!
dailymotion.com

But make sure you actually upload it, coz there are a lot of...ehm...distractions.

Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan
Lyrics


jeeevay, jeevay, jeevay, jeevay
jevay, jevay, jevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan, jeevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan, jeevay pakistan

mun panchi jab pankh hila'ay
kia kia sur bikhra'ay hoo
kia kia sur bikhra'ay

sun'nay walay sunein to un mein
aik he dhun lehra'ay ho ho
aik he dhun lehra'ay ho hoo pakistan, pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan

jevay, jevay, jevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan

bikhray howoon ko bichray howoon ko
ik markaz pay laya hoo
ik markaz pay laya

kitnay sitaroon k jhurmat mein suraj bun ker aaya ho hoo
suraj bun ker aaya ho hoo pakistan pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan

jevay, jevay, jevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan, jeevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan, jeevay pakistan

jhail ga'ay dukh jhailnay walay
jhail ga'ay dukh jhailnay walay
ub hai kaam hamara hoo
ub hai kaam hamara

aik rakhein gay, aik rahay ga
aik hai naam hamara hoo
aik hai naam hamara ho hoo pakistan pakistan
pakistan pakistan, jeevay pakistan

jevay, jevay, jevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan
pakistan pakistan jeevay pakistan
You on crack??

HOLY SHIT!

How the f**k can this happen in this day and age? Especially in our biggest city!! This is really depresssing. Something needs to be done. Round up all the fuckers who are responsible for this and shoot them! I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT! :ohno: :bash: :rant: :bleep: :no: :evil: >( :down: :mad: :mad2: :devil: :( I am so ANGRY with these people. We say Pakistan is developing. NO WAY. A fucking bridge collapses....is this development??

I think we should go ahead put some banners on the newly constructed ones too, "May fall anytime, caution please"

I'm waiting for a CDGK bridge/underpass falling down (not that I want to), but just to see the mayors reaction, look how that idiot just said it was build by NHA and the CDGK should not be held resposible :ohno:

What are the manslaughter laws in Pakistan?

Is there such a thing as manslaughter due to sheer negligence?

What are the manslaughter laws in Pakistan?

Is there such a thing as manslaughter due to sheer negligence?

Forget about it! None of these bastards are going to be caught! :bash:

dailymotion.com

But make sure you actually upload it, coz there are a lot of...ehm...distractions.

*watches video of Kuwaiti beetches dancing on the beach*



:drool:

-nt-

What are the manslaughter laws in Pakistan?

Is there such a thing as manslaughter due to sheer negligence?

Getting transferred to another department :yes:

Unless something happens, or the Supreme Court takes notice (which it will, oh fark the thousands of pending cases!)

It rejected my video because its too long :(


*cries in the corner*

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HDaNSG9mLWE"> </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HDaNSG9mLWE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object>

*impersonates Nelson*

Ha Ha !

http://www.seomoz.org/images/upload/simpsons_nelson_haha2.jpg

:lol:

*impersonates Nelson*

Ha Ha !

http://www.seomoz.org/images/upload/simpsons_nelson_haha2.jpg

:lol:

:cry:

I wonder what will happen whenever we have an earthquake. All the structures would come tumbling down.

I wonder what will happen whenever we have an earthquake. All the structures would come tumbling down.

:yes:

Btw, maybe now someone will take notice of that crack in one of the underpasses?

*watches video of Kuwaiti beetches dancing on the beach*



:drool:
Link please!

:yes:

Btw, maybe now someone will take notice of that crack in one of the underpasses?

NO! That crack is a minor defect!










:laugh:

:yes:

Btw, maybe now someone will take notice of that crack in one of the underpasses?
Not really. Today they were painting those cracks. This is Pakiland!

^^ Painting it ! :lol:

Link please!
Got it!

HOLY SHIT!

How the f**k can this happen in this day and age? Especially in our biggest city!! This is really depresssing. Something needs to be done. Round up all the fuckers who are responsible for this and shoot them! I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT! :ohno: :bash: :rant: :bleep: :no: :evil: >( :down: :mad: :mad2: :devil: :( I am so ANGRY with these people. We say Pakistan is developing. NO WAY. A fucking bridge collapses....is this development??
Save a few smilies for the next few bridges. Two down, several to go.

Link please!

*You have reached Oogabooga's answering machine. Oogaboga is busy at the moment doing his laundry, kindly call back later.*

*Shukria*

Whats the news on the FTC flyover? Still going strong?

*You have reached Oogabooga's answering machine. Oogaboga is busy at the moment doing his laundry, kindly call back later.*

*Shukria*
I'm moving to Kuwait!

Whats the news on the FTC flyover? Still going strong?
It looks fine.

Was it build by those Mehran freaks too?

Was it build by those Mehran freaks too?
Don't really know. Designwise it's really bad (blind turns, no banking, etc.), but not sure about build quality. Would check it out the next time I'm there.

4 guys at NHA have been fired. Let's see what happens next. I want to kill anyone and everyone who's involved in it.

HOLY SHIT!

How the f**k can this happen in this day and age? Especially in our biggest city!! This is really depresssing. Something needs to be done. Round up all the fuckers who are responsible for this and shoot them! I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT! :ohno: :bash: :rant: :bleep: :no: :evil: >( :down: :mad: :mad2: :devil: :( I am so ANGRY with these people. We say Pakistan is developing. NO WAY. A fucking bridge collapses....is this development??

I think you sum it up well. We're mad at them for making us feel so sad, depressed & helpless.

Umais, stop talking trash. Don't try to be an expert when you're not.

Today there was an article about bridges published in daily times and posted here by Karachiite (before the bridge collapesd)


http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/images/2007/09/01/20070901_a02.jpg

Fat trucks breaking the back of city’s bridges

* The new timing for the movement of heavy vehicles may have eased traffic jams during the day but only at the cost of the city’s infrastructure

By Munawar Pirzada

KARACHI: Not all of the city’s bridges are designed to bear the weight of trucks and trailers all at the same time, a scenario that has developed each night in Keamari and other main transit routes because movement is banned before nighttime.

The government’s decision to ban the movement of heavy vehicles was taken to ease the monster traffic jams that were developing during the daytime. CDGK EDO Nisar Ahmad Saryo warned that the bridges constructed before 1995 were not designed for heavily loaded transport but the ones constructed after 1995 can absorb the extra heavy load.

“One portion of the KPT Jinnah Bridge was completed in 1982 while the rest of the construction was done in 1995,” a civil engineer of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) told Daily Times. “Jinnah Bridge has been designed to absorb a load of 100,000 six-axle trailers. The bridge has a life span of 50 years but parking of heavy trailers over the bridge is causing damage and the life span would decrease as a natural result.” He was extremely critical of bridges constructed by the CDGK which he maintained were “stuffed with sub-standard steel, cement, crush and flexible load-bearing pads”.

There are around 57 old and new bridges in the city with nine from the RCD Highway to the Northern Bypass. Normally, 38 percent of trucks carry 8.2 tons of extra load and an extra load of 12 tons or above is carried by 43 percent of trucks, sources in the National Highway Authority (NHA) and Motorway Police told Daily Times while referring to the weight the axle can take. Traders and owners of mills are responsible or overloading and not the transporters, argued Sindh Goods, Trucks and Trailers Association’s Malik Ahmad Khan. “They compel the transporters to mount the extra load to save transportation charges and the number of runs.” On the other hand, transporters face fines of up to Rs 30,000 daily from the highway police.

About 30,000 trailers (65 percent) and trucks (35 percent) are engaged in inter-city transportation of goods and other material. The contractors get a 75 percent share while the remaining 25 percent is spent on the actual project.

Out of 18,000 mini buses and coaches, 5,000 have been altered to work as goods carriers, said Syed Mahmood Afridi of the Mini Bus and Coach Owners Association.

Afridi recalled that a portion of the Sher Shah Bridge had once collapsed only to be repaired with steel and rubber. The newly constructed bridge at Quaidabad, Landhi also collapsed on one side. The Sindh government has allowed heavy trailers to enter the city from the Super Highway to New Karachi Industrial Area, the National Highway to Manzar Petrol Pump intersection to Younus roundabout to Dawood roundabout via Road 8000, Mehran Highway and from the Northern Bypass to Paracha Chowk to Estate Avenue to Siemens roundabout and back to Gulbai-Mauripur Road and then to Karachi Port (East and West Wharf) and the Oil area to Police Post No 3 Shireen Jinnah Colony.

The city already has public and private transport of 700,000 motorcycles, car and jeeps. Also, 30,000 two-axel dumpers work the city in violation of the motor vehicle ordinance.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\09\01\story_1-9-2007_pg12_1

Afridi recalled that a portion of the Sher Shah Bridge had once collapsed only to be repaired with steel and rubber


This is the same portion that collapsed again

KPT Jinnah rotary bridge is in danger