Tag: Karachi

  • Green Line Bus service becomes operational in Karachi

    Green Line Bus service becomes operational in Karachi

    The green line bus rapid transit project has officially commenced its full operations in Karachi on January 10.

    According to officials, all 80 buses will be on the routes and the service will be available for the public from 7 am to 10 pm. These buses will cover total routes of 21 kilometers daily.

    The buses will pick people from Surjani Town Station which includes routes Numaish Chowrangi to Abdullah Chowrangi. There would be 22 stations while passing the routes. Each bus would arrive at the station after every minute. The entrance door of the bus would be open for 20 seconds for passengers at every bus station.

    Another three stations to extend the transport service to Municipal Park are under construction.

    The authority has hired 200 drivers who have already completed their training to operate these buses. This facility would be used around 135,000 passengers on the daily basis.

    The ticket price for the buses has been set at a minimum of Rs 15 and a maximum of Rs 50 for the commuters.

    According to the project manager, if the need arises, the operation timings could be extended to facilitate the citizens.

  • Door-to-door vaccination for women to start as Omicron spreads in Karachi

    Door-to-door vaccination for women to start as Omicron spreads in Karachi

    In view of the rapid spread of Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant in Karachi, the Sindh government has decided to deploy lady health workers (LHWs) and female vaccinators for door-to-door vaccination in the province. The government took the decision when it was discovered that most stay-at-home women are still unvaccinated, officials said on Thursday.

    “We have decided to send LHWs and female vaccinators to each and every house in Sindh to vaccinate people, especially women, against Covid-19 because most of the non-working women in Karachi, as well as other major cities and rural areas of Sindh, have been found to be unvaccinated,” MPA Qasim Soomro, Parliamentary Health secretary in the provincial assembly, told The News.

    Soomro ruled out any discussion within the government about tough measures and Covid-19-related curbs as they were placed during previous waves of the pandemic but called for an aggressive vaccination campaign to avoid harsh measures.

    “Vaccination of women against Covid-19 has largely been ignored by the heads of their families, especially those women who are housewives and don’t work in public and private sector offices and businesses. This section of the population is most affected due to Covid-19, especially the Omicron variant, which is targeting unvaccinated population very easily.”

    “Training of LHWs and female vaccinators is underway, and hopefully, they will be trained in vaccinating people by the end of this week. Door-to-door vaccination against Covbid-19 will hopefully commence by the start of next week.”

  • ‘No lockdown for now,’ says NCOC chief despite rising cases

    ‘No lockdown for now,’ says NCOC chief despite rising cases

    The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) chief Asad Umar said that the government has no intentions of imposing a coronavirus lockdown for now in the country.

    According to Geo News, Asad highlighted that instead of lockdowns, the government is focusing on ramping up vaccinations and strict implementation of the bans placed earlier on certain activities if one is not vaccinated.

    50 per cent of the cases in Sindh are of Omicron and the statistics show that the city’s positivity ratio reached 9.23 per cent on Wednesday.

    Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Shahid Rasul said, “Coronavirus cases of the Omicron variant are going up in Karachi because of a lack of vaccinations.”

    Meanwhile, Pakistan’s coronavirus positivity ratio exceeded 2 per cent for the first time since October 14 last year, as 1,085 new infections were detected.

  • ‘Masks, avoid crowds, vaccinate’: Dr Faisal Sultan urges people to take Omicron seriously

    ‘Masks, avoid crowds, vaccinate’: Dr Faisal Sultan urges people to take Omicron seriously

    Urging people not to take the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 lightly, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on health Dr. Faisal Sultan on Tuesday said there will be some increase in hospitalisation of patients in the next one to two weeks and urged people to wear masks, avoid crowds and get vaccinated at the earliest. It takes 1-2 weeks for hospitalisations to go up, says the health minister as Omicron cases rise.

    So far Pakistan has recorded 372 cases of the Omicron variant, Dr Faisal Sultan, told Reuters.

    “It’s still a bit early to draw conclusions since it takes 1-2 weeks for hospitalisations to go up. Also, let us see how the virus behaves regarding virulence”, Dr Sultan said when asked as to why hospitalisations were not going up in Karachi despite an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

    “At the moment, we are receiving one or two patients with Covid-19 on daily basis, but so far, we have not found anybody infected with Omicron Variant of the Covid-19”, Dr Abdul Wahid Rajput, Medical Superintendent of the Infectious Diseases Hospital, affiliated with Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) told The News.

     “There will be some increase in hospitalisation. How much, depends on the degree of spread and infection. International evidence suggests it spreads fast; how much serious sickness it causes will be evident in a week or two (for us)”, Dr Sultan added.

    “What I would say is this: we should not take it lightly”, he warned.

    When asked if the government was worried about the low vaccination rate in major cities, including Karachi and Lahore, he said: “We want it (vaccination) higher for sure. I am happy that the vaccination rates picked up with time but we still have some distance to still go. So I would not say I am worried but that we need to enhance the numbers further.”

    “Masks. Masks. Masks. Avoid crowds. Vaccinate. Ventilate,” was his advice to people in Karachi.

  • Half of the covid cases in Sindh are of omicron variant: Sindh govt

    Half of the covid cases in Sindh are of omicron variant: Sindh govt

    The Sindh government has announced, in the meeting held on Monday, that the emergence cases related to the omicron variant of coronavirus have exceeded 50 percent in the province, especially in Karachi.

    A high-level meeting was held which was presided over by the Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah to discuss the worsening situation of covid in the province which accelerated from the new variant, omicron. The brief was given by the Sindh Health Department to the Chief Minister regarding the alarming situation of the new wave of coronavirus.

    According to reports by provincial health officials, 351 samples were taken from positive covid patients for analysis, out of which 175 patients were found to be infected with the omicron variant.

    The meeting was attended by the concerned government officials including Dr Bari of Indus Hospital and Provincial Minister Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho.

    It was informed in the meeting that the number of covid cases has surged from the last 30 days. The new cases reported on December 3 were 261 and it exceeded 403 new cases of covid on January 2 this year.

    The Chief Minister claimed the situation is alarming and asked the health department to speed up the tests and initiate the vaccination drive on a large scale.

    Statistics were also shared in the meeting that during the last 30 days, the number of covid positive patients who died was 51. Out of 51 patients, 40 were on ventilators, six were on ventilators, five were at home.

    In the meeting, it was informed to the Chief Minister that until now, 29,579,471 vaccine doses had been administrated across Sindh province.

    The spokesperson for the Sindh government Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that the provincial government does not want to take strict action and requested people to follow precautionary measures to avoid the spread of the virus.

  • Two TTP banned ‘terrorists’ arrested in Karachi, planning attacks

    Two TTP banned ‘terrorists’ arrested in Karachi, planning attacks

    Two terrorists allegedly belonging to the banned outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were arrested on Monday, in Karachi during a raid.

    The two were planning attacks on multiple security officials in the city.

    According to Samaa, police have seized cracker bombs, fake passports, ball bearings, illegal arms, and detonators from their possession. The terrorists, identified as Razaullah alias Nasir and Habib Noor alias Sher Habib, joined the organisation in 2011 and 2008, respectively.

    Earlier, as per the media outlet a group of six TTP men entered Karachi.

    The police are currently interrogating the remaining terrorists. A senior official said, “The test is to locate and arrest the remaining four. The arrested suspects said that the Tashkeel [group] of six suspects was headed by a person namely Umar.”

  • Aerial firing on New Years kills 11 year old in Karachi

    Aerial firing on New Years kills 11 year old in Karachi

    An 11 years old child was killed as a result of aerial firing on New Years Eve. According to authorities the boy was injured in Khawaja Ajmir Nagri last night as a result of aerial fire. He was brought to the hospital, but he died as a result of his injuries.

    17 others were injured in different incidents of firing. The other injuries were reported in the areas of, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Ranchore Lane, Guru Mandir, Kala Pull, Saddar, Baldia, Liaquatabad, Korangi, Landhi, and Malir.

    Former Pakistan Cricket Team Captain Shahid Afridi has urged Pakistanis to refrain from celebratory gunfire on New Year’s.

    Veteran Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram also took to his social media to urge people to stop gun-firing on New Year.

    Celebratory gunfire has become a trend in Pakistan in the recent years. This has also become a reason of infinite deaths every year.

  • 46% of Pakistanis are fully vaccinated against Covid-19

    National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) Cheif Asad Umar has revealed 46 per cent of Pakistan’s eligible population has been fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

    In a tweet, the federal minister said, “Amongst the federating units, Islamabad leads with 77 per cent fully vaccinated persons. Punjab is at 51 per cent, Gilgit-Baltistan 46 per cent, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 45 per cent, Balochistan 42 per cent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 41 per cent, and Sindh at 37 per cent.”

    Umar also confirmed that 63 per cent of the country’s population has been administered the first dose of the vaccine.

    The country reported over 500 covid cases in a day on Friday, positivity rate stands at one per cent.

    Health experts have linked the rise in Covid-19 cases with the Omicron variant as nearly 89 cases of the new strain have been reported alone in Karachi.

  • Mosque constructed on land allotted for a park, Mufti says no to demolition

    Leading Islamic scholar and head of Darul Uloom Karachi, Mufti Taqi Usmani tweeted against the orders of the demolition of Madina Mosque which is located at Tariq Road, Karachi.

    On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered to demolish several structures that are constructed on unauthorised lands in Karachi including Madina Mosque.

    The apex court found out the mosque was constructed on the land that was allotted for the park.

    Mufti Taqi Usmani said in his tweet that the order of demolition of Madina Masjid on Tariq Road and construction of the park is totally “unjustified”. Thie mosque was constructed around 25 years ago on Tariq road and worshippers were using it since then.

    The Islamic scholar also said that the decree is incomprehensible without first hearing from the residents living in the neighborhood regarding the demolition of the mosque. He demanded that the court should review their order immediately.

    Meanwhile, authorities of Karachi held a meeting on Wednesday to implement the court orders since the construction of the mosque was done on illegal land.

  • VIDEO: ‘Real Qalander’ Fakhar Zaman eating with ground staff wins hearts

    VIDEO: ‘Real Qalander’ Fakhar Zaman eating with ground staff wins hearts

    Video of Pakistani cricketer Fakhar Zaman, who represents the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team, eating with the ground staff after the final match of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is doing the rounds on internet and it has won the hearts of Pakistani social media.

    https://twitter.com/PCBofficials/status/1476480509412790275?s=20

    Zaman had lunch with the ground staff at the National Stadium in Karachi during the innings break on the last day of the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Tournament.

    Several fans took to Twitter and appreciated the cricketer for the humility and nice gesture, while some called Zaman a real Qalandar.

    https://twitter.com/ShaziyaaMehmood/status/1476211317371543553?s=20

    Zaman hit a quick-fire fifty, smashing 9 fours and a monstrous six in the 5-day match.

    After the match, Zaman also took selfies with his fans.

    KP has won the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy cricket tournament title for the fifth time while successfully defending its title. The team has won five consecutive domestic tournaments in two years.

    Northern who were set a 384-run target on the final day, went down fighting as they were bowled out for 214 in their second innings with 18.4 overs left in the final session of the match.