SC orders immediate revival of Karachi Circular Railway

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Saturday directed the authorities concerned to immediately revive the Karachi Circular Railway. 

The direction came during a meeting chaired by Justice Gulzar Ahmed at the apex court’s Karachi registry. He directed the civic authorities to clear all railway tracks across the city of encroachments.

The Deputy Superintendent of the Pakistan Railways informed that railway tracks in various areas of the city have been encroached upon. The top court judge directed the deputy commissioners to remove encroachments from the railway tracks.

Meanwhile, the court also ordered the revival of a tram service in the city. A tram service be launched on the route between the old city areas and Saddar to promote tourism, said Justice Gulzar.

According to sources, the municipal authorities in coordination with railway officers would determine a route for the Karachi Circular Railway.

The apex court directed the authorities to pull down shops built under the FTC flyover and remove all sorts of encroachments along Shahrah-e-Faisal and Rashid Minhas Road.

It also directed the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and all cantonment boards to raze illegal constructions within their jurisdictions.

In Sept, this year, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah sought the assistance of Chinese authorities in the revival of the Karachi Circular Railway and other mega projects.

The chief minister, while speaking to Chinese Consul General Mr Wang Yu, said that projects such as the Karachi Circular Railway, Dhabeji Economic Zone and Keti Bandar left incomplete at the conclusion of his last tenure as chief minister were being continued.

CM Sindh said that the KCR project was most important for Karachi. “It was included in the CPEC and then delayed due to some reasons but now time has come to take it up once again,” he said.