I. I. Chundrigar Road
I. I. Chundrigar Road (Urdu: آئی آئی چندریگر روڈ), previously known as McLeod Road, is a road located in central business district of Karachi, Pakistan, and is named after former Pakistani Prime Minister Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar. The road serves as the spine of Pakistan's largest financial centre, and is frequently referred to as "Pakistan's Wall Street". It is oriented on an east-west basis and links Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road in the east to Merewether Tower in the west.[1][2]
I. I. Chundrigar Road forms Karachi's historic central business district | |
| Former name(s) | McLeod Road |
|---|---|
| Namesake | Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar, the sixth Prime Minister of Pakistan |
| Length | 2.2 km (1.4 mi) |
| Location | Karachi, Pakistan |
| Coordinates | 24°50′56″N 66°59′55″E / 24.848870026285976°N 66.99850726645714°E |
| West end | Merewether Tower |
| East end | Intersection of Ingle Road, Elander Road, and Dr. Ziauddin Road (Katchery Road) |
| Other | |
| Known for | being "Pakistan's Wall Street" |
The Karachi Stock Exchange, now consolidated as part of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, is headquartered here along with the largest banks, namely Habib Bank, United Bank, National Bank, Standard Chartered's Pakistani subsidiary and the State Bank – the nation's central bank. It is also the headquarters of media companies Hum Network and Geo News.[3]
History
The road was originally named McLeod Road (میکلوڈ روڈ),[4] in honour of John McLeod, Deputy Collector of Customs in Karachi in the 1850s.[5] Another theory suggests it was named in honour of James John McLeod Innes, a recipient of the Victoria Cross, for his services to the Crown during the 1857 Mutiny.[6] Several cotton warehouses were established along facing the railway tracks behind street during a cotton boom in the region after the American Civil War,[6] with their offices along the street itself. By the 1870s, a number of European banks and companies were established along the street.[5] In the 1870s, a small railway station was built along the southern edge of the road, which was upgraded in the 1880s, and again in 1935 with the construction of the McLeod Station, now the Karachi City railway station.[7]
In 1963, the Habib Bank Plaza was built along the street, which remained the tallest building of Pakistan until 2005, when the MCB Tower, which was also built on the road, was completed.[1] On 9 November 1969, the street was renamed Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar Road.[8]
Gallery
The following are heritage buildings along I.I. Chundrigar Road which are protected by the Government of Sindh.
Habib Bank Plaza, built in 1963, was once the tallest building in South Asia
The historic State Bank of Pakistan building now serves as the State Bank of Pakistan Museum
The midcentury building of the new State Bank of Pakistan complex
Merewether Clock Tower is at the western terminus of the road
Historic headquarters of the Standard Chartered Pakistan
Standard Insurance House, built in 1905
Looking east towards the MCB Tower, with the historic Karachi Cotton Exchange on the left
Nadir House
See also
References
- ^ a b Paracha, Nadeem F. (26 September 2014). "Visual Karachi: From Paris of Asia, to City of Lights, to Hell on Earth". Dawn. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ "Fire on Karachi's I I Chundrigar Road reignites". Daily Times. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ Khan, Zaheer Ahmed (7 October 2006). "DAWN - Features; October 07, 2006". Dawn. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ Haroon, Hameed; Baig, Mariam Ali (2004). Karachi Under the Raj, 1843-1947: Visions of empire. Pakistan Herald Publications. ISBN 9789698837006.
- ^ a b "Travelling back in time to visit Karachi of '60s and '70s". The News International. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ a b Salman, Peerzada (8 December 2012). "McLeod bahadur". Dawn. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ "Keeping track of history". Dawn. 9 May 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ Salman, Peerzada (4 November 2019). "This week 50 years ago: Decentralisation of municipal administration". Dawn. Retrieved 30 May 2022.