Broom in hand, mayor kicks off clean-up drive

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) chief Dr Farooq Sattar and the party’s Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar launched a 100-day cleanliness drive for the city on Thursday.

The MQM-P leaders inaugurated the 'Hamara Karachi' campaign by sweeping the streets in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Shah Faisal Colony and Korangi. MNAs, MPAs and Korangi District Chairman Nayar Raza also accompanied them.

Amir Khan, the party’s deputy chief, kicked off the drive in Liaquatabad Town, as other leaders and workers participated in cleaning the streets and sewage lines in different parts of the city.

Speaking on the occasion, Sattar stressed that the uplift programme was beyond politics. “We shall serve the city without any discrimination,” he said, adding that sports events, including City Olympics, would be organised during the drive.

He claimed that the Sindh government of the Pakistan People’s Party had usurped the mayor’s rights by holding up the local government.

Echoing Sattar’s allegation, Akhtar said the federal and provincial administrations had repeatedly been approached for assistance but to no avail. The mayor visited different localities to monitor the first day of the drive.

He vowed that dispensaries and schools in Korangi’s union councils would be upgraded, adding that LED light bulbs, 0.4 million manhole covers and 1.2 million concrete blocks would be provided to the UCs.

Meanwhile, Akhtar also visited Idara Noor-e-Haq, the Jamaat-e-Islami’s headquarters, as part of his efforts to bring all religious and political parties on board for the city’s development.

On behalf of his party, JI Karachi chief Engr Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman assured the mayor of cooperation. “Karachi is bigger than 100 countries in the world. We need to keep a positive outlook. We can’t live amid heaps of garbage and deteriorating roads.”

Akhtar thanked Rehman for a warm welcome and the JI’s cooperation. “In the past, various political parties have been pushed to the point of confrontation. People’s representatives have been unable to deliver as a result.”

Referring to the JI’s experience of the local government and the city’s issues, the mayor expressed hope that the party would work with them for the city’s benefit.