Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (Retd) MaqboolBaqar on Friday took notice of inoperative forensic software of the forensic division. The Caretaker Chief Minister had sought a report from IGP. He asked how bullet shells could be tested if forensic software remained operational. He further asked whose responsibility was to update the software of the forensic machine and whether the update of the forensic machine was reported to the government or not. Baqar directed the IGP Sindh to conduct a detailed inquiry to report the matter to him and take action against the officers’ incompetence.
Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (R) MaqboolBaqar has directed the Transport & Mass Transit Authority to prepare a comprehensive presentation for Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) by removing all the bottlenecks so that it could be approved in the meeting the Chinese authorities have convened next month in Beijing. The transport issue of the city would be resolved when KCR, the BRTs, and their feeder projects are completed and enabled to supplement and complement each other, otherwise, the issue would remain unabated.
He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting of the Transport & Mass Transit department to review the progress of their ongoing projects here at the CM House. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Dr. FakhreAlam, Chairman P&D ShakeelMangejo, PSCM Agha Wasif, Secretary Transport AsadZamin, and others. The Secretary Transport AsadZamin briefed the CM on KCR and said that the project would cost around $2 billion. The KCR route connects high-density residential areas of Gulistan-e-johar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nazimabad, and North Nazimabad with business districts of Karachi (Shahra-e-Faisal, I.I Chandrigar Road, Tower and with the Site industrial area. KCR also has six- interchange points with other mass transit corridors of Karachi identified in the master plan, which makes it essential for mobility, connectivity, and accessibility for residents of Karachi, Sindh.
The KCR comprises of 30 km loop line going across the city while it has a 13 km section along the Pakistan railway main line. The CM was told that there were some land issues with the railway authorities to clear the project.
At this, the CM directed the chief secretary to hold a meeting with the Ministry of Railways and remove all the bottlenecks, if any, and clear the project so that it could be approved in the forthcoming meeting with Chinese authorities. The CM was told that the BRT Green Line- funded by the federal government and the BRT Orange Line of the Sindh government were functional, apart from the Intra-district Peoples Bus Service in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Larkana was operational. Pink Bus Service, designated for women, Electrical Vehicles (EV) Buses are also operating in the city. The CM was told that the BRT Green Line, a federal government-funded project, was a 20.9 km corridor. It would be handed over to the provincial government next year.
