Mayor vows he won’t let Karachi be flooded in rains

Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Sunday vowed that he would prevent Karachi from being flooded during the ongoing monsoon season. He spoke on his one-year performance during a press conference on Sunday. Although Karachi drowned in the past after rainfall, he said, they would not let that happen this time. After Ashura, he said, a coordinated operation against encroachments would begin in collaboration with the city administration.

Speaking on plastic shopping bags, Wahab said that when legislation was made against the use of plastic bags in Karachi, some people approached courts and halted the matter. On June 19, 2023, the elected mayor and deputy mayor of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) took command of Karachi and started to implement their public-friendly manifesto, he said.

He added that in the whole term of the previous mayor, the KMC collected Rs1.2 billion in revenue, but in his first year, the KMC collected Rs2.8 billion. He said that the leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party had increased the KMC's revenue by 150 per cent in one year.

The cleaning of rainwater drains was under way and it would continue until September, the mayor announced. He said that the revenue target for this year would be increased manifold. Numerous projects had been made for the welfare of the people of Karachi and expenditures incurred from the grants received from the provincial government would be accounted for in front of the public, he added.

The mayor promised that after every quarter, the expenditure report would be presented before the public. He said that after 20 years, additional water was being brought to Karachi, and the 45-year-old infrastructure was being rebuilt. The old canals were being replaced and recently, a water project worth Rs75 billion that had been pending for two-and-a-half years was approved, he added.

Wahab explained that six new garbage stations were being built for Rs10 billion, and a modern landfill site was being constructed for Rs12 billion. He said Jam Sadiq Bridge would be reconstructed and the deadline for the project’s completion was December 31, 2025.

The mayor said that in the past, the Jamaat-e-Islami ruled Karachi for 12 years, and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for 13 years. He remarked that although he had completed just one year as the mayor, no water accumulated anywhere in Karachi after the recent rains.

He said when it rained in Lahore two days ago, no opposition party or governor held a press conference, but immediate criticism against the government started in Karachi after rains. He said the KMC’s machinery could be seen on the roads for rainwater drainage. During the MQM’s Wasim Akhtar's tenure, he said, the KMC's public buses were stopped, but now, the PPP’s mayor was bringing the buses back on the roads.

He said that within a year, they increased the revenue collection of the KMC from Rs1.2 billion to Rs2.8 billion. He said that all revenue collected would be spent on the people of Karachi. “We will improve all the hospitals under the KMC's control. We will make all our income data public, including all expenses and where the money is being spent,” he said, adding that income from municipal tax and tolls would be made public, and grants from the Sindh government would also be made public.

He said they were spending Rs90 billion on improving water supply pumping stations to enhance the water system in Karachi. District West, District Central, and District Keamari were benefit from the additional water, he explained.

He said that a new drain had been constructed at Qalandaria Chowk, which was tested during the recent rains. Earlier, KDA Chowrangi in District Central used to drown but it was not inundated in recent rain due to the construction of a new drain, he added.

He said that previously, Rs500,000 was allocated for union committees, but now the amount had been increased to Rs1.2 million. This step has been taken to empower union committee chairmen. He said he was grateful to President Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for increasing the union committee funds.