Unplanned NA-127 in grip of civic problems
May 05, 2013
LAHORE: Due to the absence of planning and development in the rapidly growing makeshift colonies and villages in NA-127, the constituency has become a breeding ground for unhealthy and uneducated population.
The dilapidated water supply line and the lack of appropriate drainage have coupled to result in exponentially increasing cases of Hepatitis C.
The last public representative could not even provide basic civic amenities like clean drinking water and education. PML-N spent Rs4 billion addressing these issues but the pace at which these newfound populations are growing there is always room for improvement.
These views were shared by contesting candidates of NA-127 at Jang Forum. The guests at the forum were Sardar Khurram Latif Khosa from PPP, Naila Dayal from Christian Progressive Movement (CPM), Nasarullah Mughar from PTI, Waheed Alam Khan from PML-N and Bismillah Asif Sukhera from MQM. The forum was hosted and moderated by Moayyed Jafri.
Naila Dayal from CPM said that the state of brick-kiln workers in the area is deplorable while there is nobody to stand for their rights. She pointed out the absence of clean drinking water in majority of the areas causing serious health hazards with Hepatitis atop.
The basic education infrastructure in the area is of pathetic standards while the absence of local bodies has resulted in nobody to approach for the people’s problems.
Nasarullah Mughar from PTI said that due to the absence of local bodies the role of MPs changed which they couldn’t live up to. He said that the energy crisis had destroyed the social fiber of the area rendering thousands jobless. He said that what could be expected of the PML-N in the future if they couldn’t even provide something as basic as clean drinking water.
He alleged that the WASA acts under the influence of powerful and resourceful people and shuts down water supply to poor areas so that the rich factions of the constituency can get more water. He pointed out that despite vast land of Evacuee Trust Property Board available the locals still are struggling with the issue of a graveyard to bury the dead. He said that even Bangladesh has better energy and foreign policies than that of the last government.
Sardar Khurram Latif Khosa from PPP said that the PML-N leadership destroyed the business of those working at the fruit market just because they wanted to grab the land of the market for being valuable. He mentioned the deplorable state of the people living in the Gujjar Colony without drinking water and sewerage. He said that the people of the constituency got nothing but hollow promises. He said that the PML-N government had committed contempt of court as they did not comply with the court’s order of giving ownership rights to the residents of Gujjar Colony. He pointed out that even when PPP was not in power in this area he worked to provide free legal assistance to the people through People’s Lawyer Forum and solved the problems of the people.
Waheed Alam Khan from PML-N agreed that the hepatitis on the rise in the area and the lack of clean drinking water is an issue. However, he said that due to the rapidly expanding localities in the area it is not easy to develop the area. He said that the energy crisis and corruption were the biggest issues, which if solved would lead to better economic and social conditions in the country.
Bismillah Asif Sukhera from MQM said that state of cleanliness in the area is so bad that it could not be categorised as a metropolis. She mentioned that over 52 percent of the voters in the constituency are women but no candidate has ever tried to address their issues. She vowed that she will build vocational institutes for women to make them self-sufficient.
The dilapidated water supply line and the lack of appropriate drainage have coupled to result in exponentially increasing cases of Hepatitis C.
The last public representative could not even provide basic civic amenities like clean drinking water and education. PML-N spent Rs4 billion addressing these issues but the pace at which these newfound populations are growing there is always room for improvement.
These views were shared by contesting candidates of NA-127 at Jang Forum. The guests at the forum were Sardar Khurram Latif Khosa from PPP, Naila Dayal from Christian Progressive Movement (CPM), Nasarullah Mughar from PTI, Waheed Alam Khan from PML-N and Bismillah Asif Sukhera from MQM. The forum was hosted and moderated by Moayyed Jafri.
Naila Dayal from CPM said that the state of brick-kiln workers in the area is deplorable while there is nobody to stand for their rights. She pointed out the absence of clean drinking water in majority of the areas causing serious health hazards with Hepatitis atop.
The basic education infrastructure in the area is of pathetic standards while the absence of local bodies has resulted in nobody to approach for the people’s problems.
Nasarullah Mughar from PTI said that due to the absence of local bodies the role of MPs changed which they couldn’t live up to. He said that the energy crisis had destroyed the social fiber of the area rendering thousands jobless. He said that what could be expected of the PML-N in the future if they couldn’t even provide something as basic as clean drinking water.
He alleged that the WASA acts under the influence of powerful and resourceful people and shuts down water supply to poor areas so that the rich factions of the constituency can get more water. He pointed out that despite vast land of Evacuee Trust Property Board available the locals still are struggling with the issue of a graveyard to bury the dead. He said that even Bangladesh has better energy and foreign policies than that of the last government.
Sardar Khurram Latif Khosa from PPP said that the PML-N leadership destroyed the business of those working at the fruit market just because they wanted to grab the land of the market for being valuable. He mentioned the deplorable state of the people living in the Gujjar Colony without drinking water and sewerage. He said that the people of the constituency got nothing but hollow promises. He said that the PML-N government had committed contempt of court as they did not comply with the court’s order of giving ownership rights to the residents of Gujjar Colony. He pointed out that even when PPP was not in power in this area he worked to provide free legal assistance to the people through People’s Lawyer Forum and solved the problems of the people.
Waheed Alam Khan from PML-N agreed that the hepatitis on the rise in the area and the lack of clean drinking water is an issue. However, he said that due to the rapidly expanding localities in the area it is not easy to develop the area. He said that the energy crisis and corruption were the biggest issues, which if solved would lead to better economic and social conditions in the country.
Bismillah Asif Sukhera from MQM said that state of cleanliness in the area is so bad that it could not be categorised as a metropolis. She mentioned that over 52 percent of the voters in the constituency are women but no candidate has ever tried to address their issues. She vowed that she will build vocational institutes for women to make them self-sufficient.
