KARACHI, Nov 28: The Governor, Ishratul Ibad, on Monday called for a massive cleanliness drive as part of a face-lifting programme for Karachi. He assured the city and town nazims that machinery for the purpose will be provided to them within three weeks.
The governor was chairing a meeting of the city and town nazims at the Governor’s House.
“It is our duty to keep the city clean. Garbage should be lifted through sweepers or by outsourcing the same to private parties,” he said, however, preferring the second option, saying it would prove more effective.
This, he said, would provide relief to nazims and give them more room for supervising and monitoring the programme.
He said Karachi should look cleaner, healthier and much more presentable than how looked now. Ailments and diseases, generating from filth and dirt were needed to be dealt with seriously, adding that the environment had to be improved for the better health of people.
He also called for removing wall chalking, including those done by political parties, hakeems and faith healers, etc, ordering the immediate arrest of those promoting the practice.
Ibad asked the city government to direct owners of houses and flats to white wash the exterior of their homes to give them a cleaner look.
He also issued directives for putting up a “Welcome to Karachi” sign right outside the terminal building of the Karachi airport, and to arrange it with lighting so that a good impression could be given to incoming passengers of the metropolis.
The meeting was attended by Planning and Development Minister Shoaib Bukhari, Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui, provincial advisers M.A. Jalil, Waseem Akhtar, Salahuddin Haider, City Nazim Mustafa Kamal, Naib Nazim (designate) Nasreen Jalil and town nazims.
The governor asked town nazims to prepare comprehensive programmes in regard to encroachments and remove them with the police’s help.
He told them to seek help from respective council members, and set up watch and ward committees to stop further encroachments in towns.
He said expert advice should be sought to identify problems relating to water and drainage, which had become a major problem, adding that the problem was needed to be handled on a scientific basis.
He said a task force had already been constituted to study the problem in depth.
Ibad also urged nazims to set up selected centres for the sacrifice of animals during Eidul Azha. Such practices, he said, were in vogue in foreign countries.
Ibad also ordered the launching of a safe drinking water scheme, first from Lyari, where impurities in water had reached intolerable levels.
In the meeting, the city and town nazims presented their problems in detail.
The governor asked them to maintain peace in their areas and keep a vigil on criminals with the help of police.
As far as the Lyari Expressway is concerned, Ibad ordered that the right of way for southbound traffic be ensured while hurdles for northbound traffic should also be removed.—PPI
