MQM decries water shortage in Hyderabad

Party’s lawmakers stage a walkout from Sindh Assembly after speaker doesn’t allow MPA from Hyderabad to speak on the issue

Karachi

For much part of the Sindh Assembly’s proceedings on Friday, the lawmakers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement vociferously protested against the water shortage in Hyderabad, also staging a walkout from the House during the course of their agitation.

At the start of the proceedings before the question hour, MQM lawmaker from Hyderabad Dilawar Qureshi sought permission from the chair to speak on the water crisis in his city.

Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani responded that the MQM lawmaker would be allowed to speak after the agenda for the day’s proceedings was over.

Irked by the speaker’s refusal, MQM lawmakers demanded that the issued be discussed, particularly because such an important civic problem of the second largest city of the province should not be ignored.

They pointed out that the water crisis in Hyderabad had exacerbated to the extent that there was no water in the city for daily consumption and ablution for prayers.

When the speaker again refused to let the MQM lawmaker speak, the opposition lawmakers gathered around his rostrum, protesting and shouting slogans.

Later, the protesting lawmakers staged a walkout from the house. They returned when call-attention notices were being responded to. They continued protesting after their return until the session was adjourned till April 11.

Responding to the situation, local government minister Jam Khan Shoro said the MQM lawmakers’ protest was meant to force the government into paying the salaries of “ghost employees” of the Hyderabad Development Authority.

 “The government will not be blackmailed by such tactics,” he added. “Gone are the days when the government could be blackmailed through hooliganism.”

He said during past regimes, the areas of Hyderabad where Pakistan People’s Party lived where deprived of water, but the present government had not resorted to such moves and water was being supplied across the city without any discrimination.

“Our colleagues here [the MQM lawmakers] are unhappy because their fellow activists who were given jobs in the HDA are not receiving salaries now because they are ghost employees,” he maintained.

“Now only those employees are being paid who actually attend offices and work.”

He said the HDA would be provided with the grant it required in the next 10 days but ghost employees would not be given their salaries.

Shoro also told the House that work had been started on a project in Karachi with a special grant of Rs200 million approved by the chief minister to replace the machines of water pumping stations that were installed in 1958.

Later while responding to a call-attention notice of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman, the minister said work on two new water supply projects having a capacity of 100 MGD and 65 MGD would commence by the end of the current month. He added that the contract for the first phase of K-IV bulk water supply project of 260 MGD had been awarded to the Frontier Works Organisation.

Responding to a call attention notice of MQM lawmaker Syed Nadeem Razi on the sewage overflow in Malir, Shoro said the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board did not have a sewerage system in 50 percent of shanty settlements in the city.

“Everybody knows how these shanty settlements were formed, who did carried out China cutting and in whose regime all such irregularities took place,” he added

He said the KWSB employees were working round the clock to address such issues in areas where a proper supply and sewerage system was present.

“But the KWSB staff can’t do much in shanty settlements set up illegally as there is no supply and sewerage system there. The residents of these areas have been settled there after taking money from them.”

The minister said none of these settlements were set up during the present provincial government’s regime.

Short-notice question

The local government minister also responded to a short-notice question of MQM legislator Dilawar Qureshi who pointed out that fiscal irregularities to the tune of Rs3.5 billion were committed in the Sindh Livestock Department and they were identified in the report of the Auditor-General of Pakistan for the financial year 2014-15.

The minister, who had held the portfolio of the livestock department, said there was no question of committing financial irregularities to the tune of Rs3.5 billion when the total budget of lLivestock department was only Rs2.5 billion in financial year 2014-15. He added that up to 80 percent of the livestock department’s budget was used to disburse the salaries of its employees and so there was no question of irregularities of such a large amount of money.

 

By-poll victory

On a point of order, MQM lawmaker Muhammad Hussain Khan said the victory of his party’s candidate in by-polls held for PS-115 and NA-245 had proved again that the people of Karachi supported the party.

“The people of Karachi and MQM leaders, activists, and supporters all deserve praise for this electoral victory,” he added. Durrani too felicitated the newly elected lawmakers.