KARACHI: Body set up to chalk out disaster control plan: 15-day task assigned
KARACHI, Oct 13: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad chaired a high-level meeting here on Thursday to consider disaster management measures in the event of any eventuality in Karachi and elsewhere in Sindh. He constituted a high-powered committee with the Adviser on Local Government Waseem Akhtar as its focal person.
The committee has been assigned the task of consolidating all reports prepared by various institutions and organizations in relation to disasters, like earthquake, fire, cyclone, flood, etc., and chalk out recommendations to meet such emergencies in a most effective manner in order to ensure minimum possible damage.
The meeting was attended by Senior Minister Finance Syed Sardar Ahmed, Minister for Planning and Development Shoaib Bukhari, Karachi Nazim-elect Syed Mustafa Kamal, Adviser on Local Government Waseem Akhtar, Adviser on Information Salahuddin Haider, Chancellor of the Sir Syed University Z. A. Nizami, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal Urdu University Dr Mohsin Iqbal, Chief Secretary Fazlur Rehman, Principal Secretary to the Governor Saleem Khan, Senior Member Board of Revenue Syed Anwar Haider, DCO Karachi Fazlur Rehman, Chief Controller of Buildings Brig A. S. Nasir, Administrator DHA Brig Maqsood Hussain and senior officials and experts from various organizations.
The committee will have members from SSUET, NED University, Karachi University, Urdu University, Hamdard University, Met Department, CDGK, KBCA, Institute of Architects, Institute of Consulting Engineers and PCSIR.
The governor has given the committee two weeks to hold its meeting under the chairmanship of its focal person and consolidate the reports prepared so far and put forward its recommendations.
He asked the committee to also work out terms for disaster management in the light of its recommendations which would subsequently be provided administrative and legal cover.
The governor has also issued directive that the reports and recommendations prepared by various institutions and organizations be circulated among each other for perusal before the committee’s meeting to evolve a better understanding of the objectives to be achieved.
He suggested procurement of equipment for testing strength of buildings in the city’s quake zones and remedial measures to be taken accordingly.
He also asked the committee to suggest measures towards checking rumours that spread panic in the wake of disasters. He called for coordination among all the concerned departments in this regard so that panicked people who would stay out of their houses because of rumours could be informed of factual position.
SSUET Chancellor Z. A. Nizami gave a comprehensive briefing about the university’s work on various disaster management plans, and said that the newly-formed committee could base its considerations on the work.
He said that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had appreciated the work done by the university.
A seismic consultant in the SSUET, Mr Kazmi, said that the tremors felt in the Defence and Clifton areas of Karachi a couple of days back were not actually an earthquake, but compression of soaked soil into solid rock. He pointed out that during development activities in these areas, wide gaps had been filled for land use and when the soaked soil compressed into solid rock, changes occurred in the shape of unrecordable tremors.
Other experts at the meeting also expressed their views at the meeting.
Earlier, the meeting offered fateha for those who died in the massive earthquake.
Governor Ishratul Ibad told the meeting that the entire nation had demonstrated an unprecedented unity and cohesion to cope with the calamity.
He said that the meeting was held to take stock of the situation and work out a disaster management plan for Karachi, as well as whole of Sindh.—APP
