CM office yet to respond to my letter, says Karachi mayor

Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar sent a communiqué to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah two days ago in which he said that the city had become a garbage den as 70 per cent of garbage was spread on streets and the rest was burnt which was making the city highly polluted.

He said this while talking to media on Friday, adding that it was the second letter that had been sent to the chief minister. He said Shah was an executive of the province and it was his responsibility to clear garbage.

Akhtar said that 30 per cent of the garbage was sent to landfill sites for burning which had made the city highly polluted. He said that he had mentioned in his letter that the Sindh Solid Waste management (SSWMB) was not working in an effective manner.

He said that the letter had been received by the CM office and they had not responded to the letter so far. The total generated garbage could not be lifted, but the fact was that only 30 per cent of total garbage reached landfill sites.

The water drains, which were being cleaned by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, were reportedly filled with garbage due to continuous throwing and dumping, and this would create havoc in the upcoming rain season.

“The SSWMB is responsible for the collection and disposal of solid/liquid waste that includes municipal solid waste, industrial solid waste and medical/ hospital waste in the entire province of Sindh,” the letter read and added that the on the directives of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) had initiated the task of cleaning and desilting major and minor drains, including minor civil works at various nullahs located in the limits of Karachi, during the current financial year.

The mayor said funds were allocated by the Sindh government as “grant-in-aid” for these works. Unfortunately, due the absence of an appropriate mechanism, thanks to officials at the SSWMB, not all garbage could be lifted, he added.