KARACHI, July 7: Members of the City Council and Nazimeen and Naib Nazimeen of different Towns and Union Councils belonging to the Al-Khadim group, have criticized the City Government for not taking immediate measures to carry out repairs at the Teen Hatti bridge despite a lapse of about two weeks since it was damaged in a fire.

Speaking at a joint news conference here on Sunday, the chairman of Al-Khadim group in the City Council, Siddiq Rathore, Taa’zim Siddiqui, Yasin Mian, Wazir Rehbar, Siraj Qureshi, Dr Iqbal Hussain and others deplored that on the one hand, commuters were facing immense difficulties due to the closure of heavy vehicular traffic on the bridge and, on the other, the diversion of buses and minibuses, in particular, was creating long and heavy traffic jams in and round the Teen Hatti and Liaquatabad Dakhana roundabouts.

Stressing on the need to expedite repair work of the bridge’s damaged portion on a war-footing basis, they apprehended that any further delay in repairing the damaged portion of the bridge will pose as serious danger to the lives of innocent persons as the monsoon season has already set in.

At the outset, they criticized the convener of the City Council and the members of Al-Khidmat group for getting the City Government budget approved in a hasty manner and without allowing other group members to speak about their resolutions, most of which pertained to various cut-motions and development schemes of their respective constituencies.

They said that it was amazing to note that the members of the House, belonging to Al-Khidmat group, were more interested in setting up a radio station and an ‘exemplary’ mosque, instead of allocating more and more funds to undertake the repair and construction of bartered roads, streets, obsolete sewerage lines and the provision of street lights.

Accusing the Nazimeen of different Towns of not providing dumper loaders and other machinery required for lifting garbage and sanitary works to those Nazimeen and Naib Nazimeen of UCs who belong to Al-Khadim group, they urged the Sindh government to take prompt notice of such discrimination, as acts such as these amount to tarnishing the image of Nazimeen, Naib Nazimeen and councillor of Al-Khadim group in the eyes of their electorates.

They also deplored the fact that although a number of major thoroughfares of the Saddar area, including Sharae Iraq, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Road, Bohri Bazaar’s Mochi Galli and other adjoining streets often remain plunged in darkness due to faulty street lights, the concerned Saddar Town officials were not taking any measures to improve the lighting system in such a busy and important commercial area.

Expressing concern over the taking of attendance of ‘Kundi’ men of Liaquatabad’s UC nos 3, 4, 5 and 6 by the rangers at the famous Peeli Kothi, they demanded of the government to direct the rangers’ officials to leave such matters to the elected Nazimeen and Naib Nazimeen.