Green Line buses to operate in Karachi by August: Asad Umar

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Sunday said that the Green Line bus project will kick off operations by August.

He broke the news as he addressed a gathering held at Governor House to hand over 52 fire tenders to Karachi Metropolitan Municipality (KMC).

The minister said that  the Green Line bus will begin operations "in between July and August", and a prototype bus for the purpose will soon be ready.

Umar, in his address, criticised the provincial government for "not empowering the  civic bodies as it should".

He said that the federation is working beyond its responsibility to give Karachi its due rights.

Umar said that the prime minister has insisted that the promises made to the people of Karachi be fulfilled as soon as possible.

The federal minister also said that the Orangi and Gujjar Nala areas will see work completed soon and a consultant is working to ready a freight corridor from Karachi Port.

He said that work is underway to implement the Karachi Transformation Plan.

Governor Sindh Imran Ismail and Federal Ministers Ali Zaidi also sharply criticised the Sindh government for not empowering civic bodies.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Ismail said that all over the world the mayor is called the father of the city and in our country he is "pitied, neither having any power nor money".

Ismail said that Solid Waste Management Board has "failed miserably" to collect garbage in Karachi.

Ali Zaidi, for his part, said that the lack of fire tenders in a city like Karachi is a matter of grave concern. "Every city has the basic facilities of fire tenders," he said.

"In the past, there were huge fires in Karachi which caused great damage," he noted.