Green buses

A number of Green Line (GL) bus projects were started in Karachi. Former City Nazim Naimatullah Khan started green bus project buses imported from Sweden, former City Nazim Mustafa Kamal reared the green bus project with locally manufactured buses of Hinopak and Daewoo and now Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif also has started the green bus project. But the interesting thing is that all these projects is on the same route. There are so many routes on which buses can run but why does everyone want to start the project on the same route? What needs to be done is for there to be separate boards to run these buses. Because if these buses are given to the Sindh transport department then their fate is also going to be the same as the previous such projects. No system can survive without good governance and rule of law. In the past, almost 10 transport projects have failed because of these very reasons.

Karachi’s Green Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system will no doubt help reduce people’s travel woes, but it comes at the cost of the environment. The country’s financial hub already lacks greenery. Last year’s deadly heatwave directly added to environmental degradation. There is no denying that development is necessary, but it should not come at the cost of the environment. Our city planners should keep environmental concerns in mind while undertaking such developments. According to some reports, thousands of trees will be chopped down to make way for the long route of the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in Karachi.

Ghazanfar Ali Khan

Karachi