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Lyari wants Lea Market back
By Jan Khaskheli
Karachi
The residents of Lyari have demanded that Lea Market, the only lucrative and revenue generating-area in Lyari be re-included in Lyari Town and that, the original boundaries of the town be restored.
“It is not justified to include the uplift scheme of Lea Market area in the Rs1.5 billion Lyari Package after it is sliced off from Lyari Town and annexed to Saddar Town illegally without the consent of the people of the area,” said an open letter, sent by Sher Mohammed Rais, Lyari Labour Welfare Center president, and a senior diehard Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) activist. The letter is addressed to President Asif Ali Zardari, on behalf of workers from the area.
Rais further said that the construction work of the oldest Khadda Fish Market has been at a standstill for a long time. The construction of a new market building was started by the now-defunct Karachi Municipal Complex (KMC) several years ago, and after erecting the plinth and pillars, the work was abandoned totally for the last five years. He suggested that the construction of the Khadda Fish Market be included in the Lyari package. This would not only restore the old fish market, but it would also bring down the unemployment rate in Lyari.
The residents of Lyari, in general, lauded the announcement of a development package for the neglected area but expressed doubts, believing that this package “may not deliver goods as per aspirations and expectations” of the residents of the area.
Lyari has only one public sector 450-bed hospital, an extension of the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), with teaching facilities. It is located in the heart of Lyari, where not only poor patients from the area, but the surrounding localities such as Trans-Lyari and Hub-Town come for treatment.
There is only one ICU in the hospital, which is not functioning, so every patient’s life is at stake. There is an emergency theatre annexed to the casualty, but it has not seen daylight since its inception because it does not have technical staff or the required equipment. As a result, all emergency cases requiring surgery are referred to the CHK. The annual budget of the hospital is very inadequate and not at par with the CHK.
Rais also raised a point and suggested that proper measure may be taken by the government with active participation of public representatives to improve the deteriorated law and order situation in Lyari.
A Nursing School was constructed by the order of Benazir Butto, but has not been renovated since its opening. Three maternity homes — the Meeranpeer Maternity Home, Lyari Maternity Home and Ghazi Qayyum Maternity Home — are running in a bad condition.
Rais also presented some suggestions regarding education facilities in the area. “If this basic brick is laid falsely, the whole structure of socio-economic life suffers. A majority of the people in Lyari belong to poor or lower-middle class who tend to send their children to government-run schools for economic reasons. In contrast to its population of 8 lacs, the numbers of government schools are housed in old, dilapidated and poorly equipped buildings,” he said.
The letter suggested that not only should these schools be upgraded but sufficient funds should be allocated in the package for the promotion of basic education in Lyari and for the renovation of school buildings.
The News: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
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