CM vows to resolve water and sanitation issues of Karachi

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that he is committed to resolving water and sanitation issues of the city and will take steps on a war footing in this regard.

He said this while presiding over a meeting of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) at the CM House on Friday. The meeting was told that in order to provide an additional 200 million gallons per day (MGD) of water to Karachi, the water board, the planning and development department and relevant experts were collaborating to materialise the proposal of construction of a canal from Gujjo to Pipri within the next two years.

The CM directed the KWSB to hire a consultant to get final technical help for the construction of the canal. In the meantime, he said, the water board should improve its distribution system in the city, particularly in the areas where water was not being provided.

Providing guidelines to the KWSB, Murad said the board should assess its network and plan expansion so that the persistent issue of water shortage in Karachi could be addressed. It may be noted here that against an allocation of 650 MGD of water, Karachi is receiving 406 MGD, due to which there is a need for expanding the existing system.

Cleanliness, repair work

The CM directed Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani to assess the roads damaged by the recent heavy rains so that necessary action could be taken to repair them. He said he also wanted to construct drains along the roads in order to deal with rainwater.

Murad said he had already directed the local bodies and district administration to continue garbage lifting and cleanliness work in the city during Muharram. Just after Muharram 10, he added, an extensive drive would be launched to lift garbage from the city.

He urged the residents and shopkeepers to cooperate with the civic agencies by throwing trash in paper bags at designated places. This is unacceptable that everyone is throwing trash in open areas and on roads, he said.

Hospital waste

The CM also directed the commissioner to conduct an inquiry through the South deputy commissioner into hospital waste being directly discharged into the sea, due to which many used syringes and other medical waste had recently washed ashore at the Sea View beach. He said the used syringes being washed up on the beach was a serious matter and a thorough inquiry needed to be carried out in this regard.

The meeting was also attended by Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister Shabbir Bijarani, Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Adviser to CM on Law Murtaza Wahab, Chairperson P&D Nahid Shah, Personal Secretary to the CM Sajid Jamal Abro, PHE Secretary Roshan Shaikh, NED University Vice Chancellor Dr Sarosh Lodhi, KWSB Managing Director Asadullah Khan and others.

Rashid Minhas’ family

Earlier in the morning, the CM visited the family of Rashid Minhas Shaheed in Defence Housing Authority to pay respect to the martyr who was awarded Nishan-e-Haider. He met the mother of Minhas, asked about her health and paid tribute to her son. The mother shared her memories of the martyr with the CM.

Murad said the services of such mothers for the country were matchless who raised the sons who sacrificed their lives for their homeland. The martyr’s sister, Anjum, showed photographs, awards and certificates of his brother to the CM and shared her memories of her brother.