Re: Malir River - Karachi’s natural heritage
Stranded people in high Malir river flood being rescued by a helicopter on Septemeber 9, 2006.
Re: Malir River - Karachi's natural heritage
**Park in Malir river-bed
**Mr Nayyar Iqbal Raza (Park in Malir river-bed, Feb 13) desires to convert the dry river-bed of the Malir river into a man-made forest. He has also reminded us that Karachi Nazim Naimatullah Khan had indicated about a year back that he intended to convert the dry river-bed of the Malir river into a lively park.
The Malir river is, in fact, a hill torrent. Beyond the bridge on the Superhighway across it, it divides into two forks. Each fork has a very steep bed slope. A hill torrent brings flash floods when there is heavy rain in the catchment.
In 1977 the Malir river brought down a super flood with very high velocity which washed away everything which was in the river-bed and also inflicted heavy damage on the population along the river, as well as some damage to Drigh Road PAF base.
Again, in 1978 a similar flood but of lesser intensity was brought down by the river. In 1977, more than 300 persons were washed away one afternoon. The flood was caused by heavy downpour in the upper catchment of the river.
At the time when it was raining in the Malir upper catchment, there was sunshine in Karachi and nobody suspected that such a heavy flood would come down the river. People were taken by surprise and more than 300 persons were washed away and lost their lives. Properties worth millions of rupees were damaged. Oil drums of the refinery were seen floating in the sea.
The Sindh government assigned Wapda to plan flood control scheme for Karachi. Wapda prepared a comprehensive plan, which consisted of three components, namely two dams in the upper catchment, channelling of the Malir river and construction of bypass channel to avoid flooding of populated areas.
Work was carried out by the KDA. Only channelling part of the river was done. The study carried out by Wapda showed that 25,000 to 30,000 cfs flood passed on that fateful afternoon.
An unobstructed bed width of about 2,700 ft. was required to pass this flood safely. Since the bed was encroached upon at several places, the flood stage increased, severely damaging properties around it. It was also concluded that the Malir river has a wet cycle of about 25 to 30 years.
In view of what has been studied and learnt in the past I would like to warn every person concerned with the development of the Malir river that it is very dangerous to play with nature.
The Malir river-bed should not be encroached upon, otherwise floodwater would find different routes to flow down to the sea. Damage in that case would be colossal.
IQTIDAR H. SIDDIQUI
Karachi
Re: Malir River - Karachi's natural heritage
KARACHI: 4,432-acre park along Malir River proposed
By Hasan Mansoor
KARACHI, June 10: The city district government, Karachi, has planned to establish an expansive park along the 17.5 kilometre length of the Malir River. The main objective of this ambitious project is to provide recreation facilities and job opportunities to the people of the city. The proposed name of the park is ‘River Valley Park.’
“The parks in the city are not sufficient for the dense population of Karachi and to meet this dearth we have selected a place for this purpose. This park will not only minimise this deficiency to a great extent but will also provide recreation spots to benefit millions of people,” said a city government official.
The area of the proposed park is 2,154,145.63 square yards (4,432.67 acres). The area of the park will be spread from the Hino Chowk on Korangi Road to the Quaidabad Bridge. Being located in the middle of the city, the park would provide recreational and sports facilities to the population of about 8 million people of the nine towns in its proximity.
Sources said the city government’s parks and horticulture department has prepared a design of the park after a detailed survey of the location, with claims that it would be the “biggest park in the world.”
In the survey report, various facilities and recreational attractions have been chalked out for the consideration of the authorities concerned, who will decide on the project’s fate this week.
The River Valley Park will have a water flow channel of 150 feet with 50-foot wide roads on either side. Besides, it will have 24 parking zones, 12 bridges and service areas at 24 points.
Various themed gardens have been planned for the park, which include a palm garden, jasmine garden, rose garden, Japanese garden, bougainvillea garden and Mughal garden. Besides, four city forests and some 500,000 trees will also be planted.
Experts have suggested the establishment of an athletic ground to enhance sports activities in the city, which will include facilities for basketball, tennis, volleyball and badminton. There are also suggestions for a golf course, horse riding area, skating arena, kids’ car area and polo ground.
In addition to this, some 15 cricket grounds with international level facilities are suggested to be part of the huge park to cater to the needs of the city youth. According to the designers, these facilities would help host major national and international cricket events.
Plans are afoot to restore the past glory of field hockey in the country, for which at least 10 prospective hockey fields have been suggested. The designers have plans for the establishment of 10 football grounds in the park given the fact that it is a popular sport in the country, despite little patronage from the authorities.
For the amusement of visitors, kite and pigeon-racing competitions would be organised on a regular basis at a specific portion of the park. The designers have also included modern facilities for motorcycle races and motor sports to give a space to the enthusiasts of these pursuits. A total of 128 powerful floodlight towers will be installed to keep the location illuminated during the night.
A runway for flying remote controlled airplanes and helicopters has also been proposed. Five open-air theatres are included in the draft design to promote the neglected art of theatre. Besides, 12 family and eight kids’ play areas will also be established.
The designers have also proposed an elevated monorail system to provide visitors transit across the sprawling expanse of the park.
The cargo handlers should have a check on heroin that is imported from Afghanistan - our policy makers are taking great advantage of the low prices.
Re: Malir River - Karachi’s natural heritage
The largest brige in Karachi being constructed at Malir River.
Re: Malir River - Karachi's natural heritage
what about the one that fell down, any ETA on that getting fixed?
Re: Malir River - Karachi’s natural heritage
I found another picture of Khadeji fall on the net.
Re: Malir River - Karachi's natural heritage
w0w.. really informative.. :)
i never visited these places :(