CM terms proposal of imposing Article 149 as ‘bubble of hot air’

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that some ‘politically immature orphans’ were talking about imposition of Article 149 to bring Karachi under the federal government’s rule but their suggestion was merely a bubble of hot air.

He was talking to the media just after visiting different districts of the city on Monday to review offal lifting and ongoing cleaning work of drains in the city. He was accompanied by Minister of Education Saeed Ghani, Minister of Local Government Nasir Shah and his Adviser Murtaza Wahab. A journalist asked the CM that a federal minister and some others had given statements that under Article 149 of the Constitution, Karachi should be given under the administrative control of the federal government. The chief minister responded by saying that that the statement was beyond his comprehension. “It is a bubble of hot air and would fizzle out,” he said and advised the media not to take politically immature orphans seriously.

While saying that he was ready to concede the shortcomings of his government in managing the affairs of Karachi, the CM said a major issue was that the storm water drains were also made to carry sewage owing to shortcomings in the sewerage system of the city. To another question, Shah said that during the recent heavy downpour of July 26 and 27, rainwater accumulated and caused flooding in those areas where traditionally it used to be disposed of naturally through force of gravity. “During my visit “Rehan Hashmi, the Chairman of DMC Central, gave me a detailed briefing on the defects of Green Line project and personally showed me those areas where the pillars of Green Line Infrastructure were either constructed within storm drain or along them blocking the drainage.”

Murad Ali Shah said that he had been releasing funds to clean the Nullahs for the last many years. He said that would visit Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Tharparkar where the next spell of heavy downpour was expected from August 6. The chief minister visited offal dumping site at Qayumabad. Briefing the chief minister, MD Sindh Solid Waste Management Board Kashif Gulzar said that up to August 2, over 31,050 tons of offal was lifted from 85 collection points of the city.

The chief minster also visited the Mahmoodabad Nallah known as Zahri House Nallah, at Sharae Faisal where a major choking point was being cleared. The Project Director SWEEP, Zubair Channa, told the chief minister that the part of Mahmoodabad Nallah has a serious choking point under Shahrah-i-Faisal due to its zigzag shape. The chief minister directed the project director to rectify the design and build a straight crossing instead to avoid the problem in future. At the Gujjar Nullah near Liaquatabad No 4, people gathered and told the chief minister that rainwater had choked the Nallah and water entered their houses. The chief minister summoned the municipal commissioner, District Central and directed him to clear their homes and report to him. The chief minister also visited offal collection point set up near Eidgah Ground, District Central.

The Chairman DMC Central, Rehan Hashmi, briefing the chief minister at Saifee College, said that the pillars of Green Line Project have been constructed within the Gujjar Nallah which has narrowed the drain and it resulted in [nala] overflowing and flooding the entire area. The chief minister visited Nagan Chorwangi, KDA Chowrangi and Hyderi Market and personally inspected the problematic points of Green Line. Shah said the entire track of Green Line project from KDA Chowrangi to Nagan Chowarngi was constructed either along the Nallah or within the nala which will continue to cause havoc unless the designed is altered or modified. The Hyderi Market was inundated with rainwater because of the same problem.