Mayor blames govt, SSWMB for city’s messy conditions

Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar blamed the Sindh government and the Solid Waste Management Board’s bad governance and negligence for the disaster that last week’s rains wrought in the city and the insanitary conditions citizens faced over Eidul Azha.

During a visit to district Central on Wednesday, Akhtar said that lifting of garbage from the city was a serious problem and that not Rs25 billion – federal government’s Karachi package - but at least Rs2500 billion were needed to clean it up.

Accompanied by the deputy mayor, Dr Arshad Vohra, as well as the district’s elected representatives, the mayor visited North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, Liaquatabad, North Karachi, KDA Chowrangi, Nagan chowrangi among other areas. Examining the areas’ cleanliness and whether offal of sacrificial animals was disposed off properly, the mayor directed to clean up forthwith places he found dirty.

Criticising district corporations for inaction, he said that had all concerned DCs performed their duties the city would not have found itself in such horrible conditions. However, he added that the city had been cleaned of 95 percent of offal, while the remaining work will be completed soon.

Considering that rainfall had slowed down the pace of work, Akhtar warned officers of a strict action if they were found to have neglected their Eidul Azha duties. As for the city’s garbage dumping site, Jam Chakro, the mayor said the site was closed down for the last 10 days but can be accessed now.

He urged the federal and provincial governments to resolve, once and for all, all issues that were affecting the city’s drains. Akhtar also requested Karachi’s industrialists to not dump industrial waste into the drains.

He further claimed that the city was in the process of being cleaned despite the local civic authorities’ limited resources and funds. District Central chairman and vice chairman, Rehan Hashmi and Syed Shakir Ali respectively, and chairman North Nazimabad union council Naeemuddin also accompanied the mayor.