Karachi: The Karachiites will get the chairlift and cable car facility, which will provide connectivity between the two important hilly recreational spots in the middle of Karachi.
The announcement to this effect was made by Karachi’s Administrator, Barrister Murtaza Wahab, while launching the paragliding and archery facilities at one of the prime housing projects in suburbs of Karachi.
The chairlifts will be installed from Hill Park to Kidney Hill Park as both the recreational spots are located nearby across one of the main thoroughfares of the city i.e. the Shaheed-e-Millat Road. The Hill Park has been an old recreational area while recently Kidney Hill Park was transformed from a garbage dumping site into an urban forest.
Paragliding facility
The Karachi’s Administrator also announced that a paragliding facility would also be launched from the Kidney Hill Park. He said the work to install the chairlifts would start in the coming few weeks.
He said that an effort was being made to promote positive image of Karachi by transforming parks, beach, and playgrounds of the city.
Barrister Wahab said that parks and playgrounds in the city belonged to the people of Karachi as they should come forward to play a role in the revival of these amenities.
He said it was high time to revive entertainment and recreational activities in the city after restoration of peace in Karachi.
With maximum height of 219 feet, the Kidney Hill Park is considered as the highest point of Karachi as one of the hills of the park now displaying the Pakistani flag and name of the park in giant size that resembles the famous Rock of Gibraltar.
Dr Syed Saifur Rehman, who in his capacity as Karachi’s metropolitan commissioner worked on the Kidney Hill Project in recent past, said the area after getting the form of an urban jungle served as an oxygen tank for the city and also helped to restore natural ecosystem of Karachi.
The senior bureaucrat said the most important aspect was that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), the cash-strapped municipal authority of the city, had spent its own financial resources to develop the hilly area as no grant had been taken from the Sindh government for the purpose.
He said that 62 acres land of the park had been used to plant 1,50,000 saplings of indigenous species as the plantation mostly consisted of fruit bearing trees.
The park after becoming a green space has also started attracting several bird species that is otherwise seldom seen in Karachi due to massive tree cutting and increasing environmental pollution.
