KARACHI: Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab laid the foundation stone for several development projects, including the construction and restoration of roads around Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, and the installation of paver blocks, and also inaugurated the new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) facility at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
Deputy Mayor Karachi Salman Abdullah Murad, Deputy Parliamentary Leader in the City Council Dil Muhammad, the administration of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, and the Vice Chancellor and Registrar of Karachi Metropolitan University were also present.
The Mayor Karachi said that providing basic facilities around the city’s hospitals is being prioritized. Meanwhile, after the completion of the road construction and restoration, traffic flow in the surrounding areas will significantly improve.
The improvement of paediatric facilities at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital is an important step towards providing quality healthcare services to citizens. Twenty-five new beds have been added to the NICU for the treatment of children with congenital diseases, and orders have been issued to provide four new ventilators to make this unit more effective. Facilities at the Trauma Center are also being expanded.
He said that the construction and repair work on various roads around Abbasi Shaheed Hospital is progressing rapidly, and the process of laying paver blocks in UC 47, 48, 49, 50, and 51 has also begun.
The project will use a total of 75,000 cubic feet of sub-base course and aggregate base course blocks. 225,000 square feet of 80 mm and 80,000 square feet of 60 mm paver blocks will be laid. An area of 155,000 square feet has been allocated for carpeting.
Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that the roads around Abbasi Shaheed Hospital were in a dilapidated condition, and we had promised to improve them; now work has begun to fulfill that promise.
He said that after a long time, development work is progressing rapidly across the city under the leadership of the People’s Party. In the past year and a half, four to five major interventions have been made in the paediatric department of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, resulting in the provision of quality healthcare facilities for children for the poor and middle class at just a twenty-rupee ticket.
He announced that a new 50-bed facility is being established above the Trauma Center, and work on it will begin soon. The purpose of these measures is to provide quality, faster, and accessible healthcare services to the people. Regarding the Karachi Medical and Dental College, promises were made in the past, but the practical step of establishing a public university for the people of District Central was taken for the first time by the Pakistan People’s Party government.
The bill for Karachi Metropolitan University was passed by the Sindh Assembly, and now this university is fully functional. The Mayor of Karachi announced that in a few weeks, a new Center of Excellence for Health Services will be established with the cooperation of Karachi Metropolitan University in the soon-to-be-completed new block.
This centre will provide all facilities for diabetes, skin diseases, physiotherapy, and treatment of special children under one roof so that patients do not need to go to the general hospital and can receive services in a respectful and dignified environment.
Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that asphalt carpeting work in the city has formally begun. “We, the people of the People’s Party, fulfil what we promise.”
The Mayor of Karachi said that all assets and income of KMC are a trust of the people of the city and are being used for their betterment.
He asked the Jamaat-e-Islami Town Chairmen to use the 14 to 15 billion rupees available to them for road cutting for the improvement of the city instead of keeping it in accounts, so that development work can proceed with focus.
The Mayor of Karachi said that Karachi is our city. Collective thinking and focus are essential to improve it. This hospital was built by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1974, and every possible measure is being taken for its improvement.
He said that if Federal Minister Mustafa Kamal makes any effort to bring a major package for Abbas Shaheed Hospital, he would welcome it and be grateful to him for it.
Speaking on the 27th Constitutional Amendment, he said that legislation is the work of the assembly and the people’s elected representatives. Many people propagate contrary to the facts, while everything is written in the Constitution.
He clarified regarding the pharmacies and blood banks operating in hospitals that whichever institution uses the hospital building will have to pay rent, whether it is a pharmacy or a blood bank. Issues related to medicines will also be resolved soon.
He directed the suspension of two doctors at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for irresponsibility, upon which a senior doctor informed him that show-cause notices had already been issued to both.
The Mayor said that the walls built around parks in the city have become an obstacle for the public.
“I believe that parks should not have walls so that citizens can enjoy the greenery.” Giving the example of Frere Hall, he said that it is the best park because it has no walls around it.
Based on the same philosophy, it has been decided to remove the walls of Benazir Bhutto Park, Bagh Ibn Qasim, and Beach View Park.
About Empress Market, he said that the improvement work of Empress Market is progressing rapidly. It will be completed and opened by December 15, while Hooti Market will be opened by November 30. Tenders for further development projects have also been issued.
This is the year of development and improvement, and the promises made to the people of Karachi will be fulfilled. “Work is happening, and change is visible in Karachi.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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