KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday warned the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) to provide electricity or pack its bags and leave the province.
Addressing the Sindh Assembly, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also issued a similar warning to the Hyderabad Electric Supply Corporation (Hesco) and Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco).
“We had discussed it in cabinet meetings, and I repeat, if you (Hesco and Sepco) cannot provide electricity, then pack your bags and leave,” Murad said. He said that he will personally take up the matter with the federal minister and chairman Wapda for discriminatory attitude towards Sindh.
He said that there was already a law under which consumers can complain about overbilling and other issues directly to the authority, which is obliged to solve them in an open court.
Meanwhile, the Sindh Assembly was informed by the government on Wednesday that development projects, construction of roads and flyovers at 22 sites in Karachi was the cause of massive traffic jams in the city these days but after completion of these projects, the citizens of Karachi would take a sigh of relief.
“In addition to development projects, there are encroachments at roads, continuous increase in number of vehicles on roads and lack of parking space," Sindh Senior Minister Nisar Khuhro said in response to a call attention notice by PTI lawmaker Khurram Sher Zaman, who claimed that most of the city roads and thoroughfares had been dug up and were causing massive traffic jams in the city.
Responding to the PTI lawmaker, Nisar Khuhro said on the one hand, some quarters were blaming that the Sindh government was doing nothing for Karachi while, on the other hand, they were alleging that roads were dug up and other development works were causing traffic jams in the city.
He said 22 development projects were under way in all the six districts of Karachi, which was causing inconvenience to citizens and added that some other reasons, including increase in the number of vehicles, encroachments and lack of parking space, were behind the traffic mess in the city.
“Officials have also identified 26 places in Karachi where the traffic flow is very heavy and results in traffic jams but as soon as these projects are completed, the issue of traffic jam would be resolved," he said and added the government had also disallowed heavy traffic to enter the city at certain times to prevent the traffic jams.
The Sindh Assembly on Wednesday unanimously adopted the Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Bill 2017, under which children under 14 years of age would not be employed and those involved in this practice would be sentenced to six months to three years of imprisonment in addition to imposition of fine of Rs50,000 to Rs100,000. The bill was introduced by Minister forParliamentary Affairs Nisar Khuhro, who said the issue of child labour was becoming serious and after the 18th Amendment, it was the responsibility of the provinces to enact laws in this regard.
All the opposition parties, including the PML-Functional, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and PTI, debated its various sections. Later, the bill was unanimously adopted by the house while some amendments introduced by the opposition to decrease the age of children from 14 to 12 were rejected by the house.
All the lady health workers, their supervisors and all other staff have been paid their salaries and now nobody is there who is working without salary, Sindh Health Minister Dr. Sikandar Mandhro told the provincial assembly after MQM female lawmaker Naheed Begum said LHWs were working without salaries for the last many months.
“I have the copy of a notification with me, according to which all the LHWs, their supervisors and other staff of the program have been paid all their outstanding salaries," Dr. Mandhro said, informing that earlier, the payment of salaries of LHWs was an issue when this department was devolved but now this issue had been resolved.
Local government authorities have allowed only two Sunday Bachat Bazaars in Karachi, which are held in Malir and Darakhshan while all other bachat bazaars are illegal and would be closed down.
This was stated by Sindh Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro in response to a call attention notice by Syed Nadeem Razi of MQM, who said the illegal bachat bazar in Malir Kala Board and Model Colony were causing traffic jams and causing inconvenience.
Meanwhile, the Larkana Press Club has been sealed on the request of two groups of LPC members, who had requested the administration to seal the club, otherwise, it would result in a law and order situation but deputy commissioner Larkana has been asked to resolve the issue by inviting both the groups of the journalists.
This was stated by provincial minister Nisar Khuhro after journalists who cover the provincial assembly held a protest and walked out of the Sindh Assembly while the MQM minority MPA raised this issue on a point of order.
