[Just In - More details to follow -ARR]
The entire Clifton Bay beach is to be developed and then linked to Manora Island by a bridge. Manora Island has been sold for real estate development. This real estate development will continue along Sandspit and Hawksbay where the sugar city is to be constructed.
The entire Clifton Bay beach is to be developed and then linked to Manora Island by a bridge. Manora Island has been sold for real estate development. This real estate development will continue along Sandspit and Hawksbay where the sugar city is to be constructed.
People owning huts in Sandspit and Hawksbay have already received notices that their leases will be canceled.
This is just to let you know that the issue is much bigger than just the DHA Project. Hawksbay Sandspit area will be developed as Sugar Land City and the Manora ridge as a 20 storey five star hotel. Manora is to be linked to Keamari with a bridge and the development is to continue along the coast upto the golf club. There is nothing wrong with development but this will deprive millions of Karachiites and people from outside of Karachi, who visit the beach for recreational and entertainment purposes.
Further, the beaches are public property, essentially a national asset which needs to be preserved. This latest sale of Manora Island is utterly uncalled for, developments along Clifton Beach and Sandspit is disastrous.
This is not an isolated incident, there are several such cases in other cities of Pakistan where public property is gradually being sold to private developers with no regard for the people and the environment.
The Sandspit Beach is also a nesting ground for Green and Olive Ridley Turtles, implemented by the Sindh Wildlife Department over the past two decades. In recent years the WWE-Pakistan has also become actively involved in turtle conservation activities by establishing a Wetland Center at the Sandspit beach.
Manora or Manoro (in Sindhi) is a small island (2.5 km²) located just south of the Port of Karachi in Pakistan. The island is connected to the mainland by a 12 kilometer long causeway called the Sandspit. Manora and neighboring islands form a protective barrier between Karachi harbour to the north and the Arabian Sea to the south.
Manora is a popular picnic spot because of the long sandy beaches along the southern edge of the island, which merge into the beaches of the Sandspit and then extend several kilometers to the beaches at Hawkesbay. At the southeastern end of Manora island is the tallest lighthouse (28 m or 91 feet high) in Pakistan. The island lies approximately 15-20 minutes by boat ride from mainland Karachi but there are no good hotels available for an overnight stay. [Pictures of Manora]
A group of distinguished Karachiites are organizing a campaign to SAVE the BEACHES. A petition will be created in the next day or to, along with an AD in DAWN.
