Army to blame for Karachi bridge collapse

The collapse of the Northern Bypass bridge in Karachi that killed nine people has brought into focus the issue of public accountability of military agencies involved in development projects in Pakistan.

Barely a month after it opened to traffic, the bridge, on the Pakistani Rs 350-crore (us $58 million) bypass, built by the military-owned National Logistic Cell (nlc) and the National Highway Authority (nha), collapsed on September 1, leaving officials scurrying for excuses. Strangely, the contract to build the bridge was awarded without bidding.

The Ministry of Communications had found flaws in the design of the bridge a year ago and recommended its reconstruction, says communications minister Shamim Siddiqui. But instead of rectifying the fault, nlc hired Belgian consultants on whose recommendations steel sheets were inserted in the bridge.Mohammad Noman, an associate professor at Karachi's ned University of Engineering and Technology, said, "In June 2006, while placing a pre-stress box girder it was noted that it remained above one of the pads. Specialists said the affected portion had to be dismantled. But strangely enough, nha did not force the contractor or the consultant to remove it."

"The cause of the collapse of the Northern Bypass flyover was a combination of flawed design and the absence of a regulatory structure to ensure that possible construction shortcomings are rectified without exposing the public to risk," says architect Arif Belgaumi.
Escaping responsibility Fixing responsibility for the mishap, however, is not easy. City Nazim (mayor) Syed Mustafa Kamal quickly clarified that the City District Government Karachi (cdgk) had nothing to do with the construction of the bridge.

Belgaumi points out that an effective regulatory agency is necessary to enforce standards of public safety. "In the absence of such agencies and with the involvement of autonomous military organizations, which perceive themselves to be above the law, the whole concept of public safety and welfare gets tossed aside," he says.

What complicates the matter is that there is no single administration in Karachi. Thirteen agencies, including cdgk, are involved in overseeing the affairs of the financial hub of Pakistan.
Military might But why was the contract awarded to a military organisation-- nlc--in the first place? According to Farhatullah Babar, senator and a Pakistan People's Party leader, nlc is not authorized to undertake construction. On his request, a copy of the charter of duties of nlc was tabled in the Senate on December 27, 2005. It states that nlc is to work on the "transportation of commodities, procurement of transportation trucks, building of truck bodies, hiring of storage facilities, engaging local and foreign consultants, raising of organizations necessary for the performance of the mission assigned and engaging staff and labour". Asked whether nlc had been awarded contracts without tenders, Babar was told in the house that most building firms shied away from taking up development works in remote areas, so the government gave contracts to nlc without bids. When he asked whether Karachi was a remote region, he was silenced for raising "unpatriotic" questions.

This highlights the growing influence of the armed forces in Pakistan's economy, or the "military capital". Military analyst Ayesha Siddiqa writes in her book Military Inc. Inside Pakistan's Military Economy "Today the Pakistan military's internal economy is extensive, and has turned the armed forces into one of the dominant economic players. The most noticeable and popular component of Milbus (Siddiqa's term for military capital) relates to the business ventures... ranging from smaller-scale ventures... to corporate enterprises such as commercial banks, insurance companies, radio and television channels, fertilizer, cement and cereal manufacturing plants, and insurance businesses."

"There is no doubt that the army is involved in these projects in a big way. It does not coordinate with city plans," said Arif Hasan, a leading architect and town planner. The flyover collapse should serve as an eye-opener.

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