KARACHI: Plan for the development of historical Empress Market in Saddar, Karachi has hit technical hitches due to lack of oversight by the concerned quarters, especially the Governor House.
In the past many plans were made to remove encroachments around the original building of the Empress Market, reroute public transport buses from this area, make this locality only-for-pedestrians, functionalize car parking plazas, renovate Jahangir Park, shifting of illegal bus stands, starting a tram service and other such schemes; however, these plans saw little practical implementation.
Insiders say local police and municipal administration officials do not want to see these plans materialised, as they would result in an end to roadside encroachments, removal of vending stalls and illegal bus terminals which means loss of hundreds of thousands rupees of bribe, locally called Bhatta, everyday.
Previously the former governor had taken a personal interest in the development and uplift of Saddar and it is hoped that the new Governor Muhammad Zubair would also take a keen interest in this regard. An uplift in Saddar would give a new direction and role model to follow to other areas of Karachi for modernisation.
However, citizens and civil society have been suggesting banning entry of all public transport vehicles in Saddar up to Regal Chowk, and making it pedestrian free zone. Chaotic roadside vendors should be given a proper place to set up small kiosks or organized flea markets, removal of all illegal constructions from the area, building of overhead pedestrian bridges and removing of illegal bus terminals near the Taj Complex area, which has become a nuisance for the entire locality.
Full utilization of the car parking plaza is only possible by making the whole area a no-parking zone, practically. In theory many streets of this area have already been declared ‘no-parking’ streets but practically corrupt traffic police cops patronize illegal parking there. However, making this area a pedestrian free zone would also boost shopping culture and help local shopkeepers earning huge profits.
However, it depends on the political will of the concerned quarters and the farsightedness of the governor to make the dream of a pedestrian-friendly Saddar a reality soon.
