KARACHI, Dec 30: Most NGOs including community-based organisations (CBOs) of Lyari, once effective even at the street levels, have been rendered redundant due to of financial constraints, a survey shows.

Over 300 NGOs and CBOs, some of which existed much before the creation of Pakistan, are operating in the locality.

These organisations have been funded either by the government or donor agencies. But due to the change in government and donor agencies’ policies, they are no longer being funded.

Representatives of these organisations also blame civic agencies for failing to cooperate with them in solving the area’s problems despite the fact they had made a significant contributions in social welfare through setting up street schools, sports clubs reducing drug abuse and arranging marriages and funeral within the community.

But they admit their failure in persuading the elected representatives to arrest the deterioration of Lyari and there is no effective coordination among them.

A CBO official complained that they had been ignored not only by the government agencies but by international donors as well. For the past few years none of the donor agencies had even made any donation, he added.

The Lyari Community Development Project (LCDP), set up in 1954, was successfully running several programmes in the locality, among them were family planning, education, job skills and women’s income generating projects.

But presently, it is facing financial problems because of lack of funds.

Unlike the LCDP, small Lyari NGOs have been consistently meeting area MNAs and MPAs and town officials to persuade them to take interest in the overwhelming problems of the locality including water shortage, waste disposal and unemployment.