Karachi: Irfan Iqbal Sheikh President FPCCI welcomed visit of Director General Karachi Development Authority (KDA) to Federation House to address high-profile gathering of business, industry and trade community. Business community put forward their concerns and apprehensions pertaining to city's infrastructural issues and shortcomings in urban planning and development. 

He apprised that SITE area alone needs repair and reconstruction of 20 roads. Additionally, all industrial zones in Karachi are facing obstacles in their smooth operations due to broken urban infrastructure, which include dilapidated roads, chronically choked sewerage lines, often out-of-order telephone lines and broken streetlights. 

He maintained that Karachi contributes 60 percent revenues to country's exchequer and yet it has been deprived of even most basic of utilities. He urged KDA authorities to come up with a master plan to resolve burning infrastructural issues.  He explained that industrial areas work round the clock as factories never sleep and they need civic amenities accordingly. He expressed profound concerns that lack of cleanliness on roads and in other public places mixing of sewerage water with drinking water, factory workers are falling prey to water-borne, viral/contagious and mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, Dengue, diarrhea, gastroenteritis, typhoid, etc.  He highlighted fact that most of city's infrastructural insufficiencies are due to lack of coordination and operational harmony amongst various federal, provincial and district departments and agencies. When electricity, gas and telephone operators lay their underground lines, they habitually and carelessly end up cutting or damaging other utilities' lines, he added. 

Muhammad Ali Shah Director General KDA listened to concerns of business leaders patiently and assured them of major improvements in city's infrastructure in near-term. He said that major projects are under way and business community will get relief on many of their concerns soon.  

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 08 2022

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