Rehabilitation of Lyari River, Karachi

This research study demonstrates the restoration of the Lyari River, from a vantage point of the historical and regional development of the megacity Karachi, its growth patterns and important events after the partition of the sub-continent in 1947 until the present day. Karachi has grown into many folds after the partition mainly because of its mass migration of refugees coming from India and Karachi being the only seaport of Pakistan.

Many refugees settled along the Lyari River through the informal settlement. With time these informal settlements started to expand, not only along the Lyari River but also on the river bank. This process of expansion created a lot of illegal encroachment of resources. Lacking governance built up poor infrastructure with a great deal of garbage storage on the banks of Lyari River. To stop the encroachment and to improve the transportation system of the megacity they planned a Lyari Expressway, which is criticized by the experts as not a concrete solution to the transportation problem in Karachi. It requires a mass transit system or the revival of the Karachi circular railway for such improvement. Karachi city also needs to solve the issue of informal settlement with a better housing system, where people can get better quality of environment and infrastructure to uplift their living standards.

The research is based on the issues about the rehabilitation of the Lyari River in Karachi, the environment of the river and how it can benefit on a bigger city scale. A case study of Indore city in India is used to understand the impact and outcome of the results. The design solution is an exploration of the many possibilities that could be implemented in the rehabilitation of the Lyari River.