District Central’s civic conditions are pathetic, admits LG minister

Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has conceded that the road infrastructure in Karachi’s District Central has been in a shambles since the last spell of heavy monsoon downpour in the city.

“There is no doubt that the roads were already in a bad shape. But now the infrastructure of not just the main roads but also of the adjoining streets and alleys in District Central has been in the worst condition since the heavy rains in the city”, said the LG minister while talking to media persons during his visit to the district on Sunday.

He was accompanied by the managing-directors of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board, the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) and other officials. He also conceded that the District Central being the biggest district of the province had plenty of civic problems. The LG minister, however, claimed that the civic infrastructure and the municipal problems of the District Central would be resolved to make it the city’s model district.

He said an estimated sum of Rs1 billion would be provided by the Sindh government to resolve “main civic problems of the district”, including water supply, sewerage, drainage, street lights, parks, road infrastructure and disposal of municipal waste.

He said this special fund would be transparently spent by the authorities of the district. The minister said the Sindh chief minister had allocated special funds for the revival and restoration of the civic infrastructure of the district on the directives of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Before repairing the district’s road infrastructure, he said the government would revamp the drainage system along these roads so rainwater did not accumulate on roads.

The minister said a system would be adopted to let the SSWMB assume the responsibilities of the municipal waste disposal in the District Central for door-to-door collection of trash and also the lifting of garbage from several spots of the area.

He said the problem of the shortage of potable water would also be resolved. He conceded that just the salary expenditure of the District Municipal Corporation (DMC) Central had been more than the due financial support for the DMC by the Sindh government. He said support would be provided to the DMCs to increase their income by enhancing tax generation by the municipal agencies of the city and later to ensure their judicious spending.