KARACHI: Mayor Wasim Akhtar on Friday appealed to newly elected Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to play his due role and invest more funds for the uplift of Karachi than a military dictator of the past.

“You are a democratically elected leader of the country; and it is about time you announced a heavy package for Karachi and beat [retired] General Pervez Musharraf who had been keen to uplift the city during his nine-year rule,” said the mayor.

Talking to reporters after reviewing cleaning of various drains in Baldia Town, he said the sprawling metropolis had been feeding the country for the past 70 years at the cost of its own resources and development; now it was time that the country should reciprocate with equal compassion and commitment.

“The country’s financial capital is in dire straits meriting prompt support from the nation,” he added.

The mayor said the district municipal corporation West was being run by an administrator for the past one year. He asked the Supreme Court to decide soon the case vis-a-vis the election of the chairman of the DMC West to enable the elected representatives to run the affairs.

City Council adopts resolution against supply of contaminated water

He said that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had the powers to resolve the problems of Baldia Town and other neighbourhoods of Karachi, but he had ‘hard-heartedly’ abandoned the city.

He said with the support of the manpower and machinery of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, 14,000 tonnes of garbage had been lifted in four days from Baldia Town.

City Council wants KWSB under mayor’s control

The City Council on Friday unanimously passed a resolution against the supply of contaminated water to Karachi.

The council demanded that stern action be taken against those who were responsible for supplying water mixed with sewage to millions of people, which posed a serious threat to human life.

The council appealed to the Sindh government to ensure supply of clean drinking water to the people.

Speaking on the resolution, the members called for handing over of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board to the mayor, showing concern that the KWSB officials were putting people’s lives in danger.

The general meeting of the council was held in the council hall of the KMC building. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Mayor Arshad Vohra.

A total of 10 resolutions were approved by the council, of which five were passed unanimously and the remaining passed through majority vote.

The council also validated minutes of its meetings held on May 9 and May 16.

The resolutions which were passed unanimously included nomination of the council members for vacant seats of its various committees; naming of the railway flyover in Gulshan-i-Iqbal after Sir Syed Ahmed Khan; award of contract for printing, distribution and IT services of bills of municipal utility services charges, and condemnation of alleged insulting attitude of the administrator of DMC West with an elected union committee chairman and vice chairman. It demanded that strict legal action be taken against the administrator.

Besides, the resolutions passed with majority vote included proposals on increase in various contracts of veterinary department; cancellation of KMC Resolution No. 37 dated Oct 27, 2015 and No. 39 dated Nov 17, 2015 regarding solid waste management and all orders issued by former administrators on solid waste management; establishment of recreational educational family park, commercial complex facility at the coastal belt; demand for a ban on manufacturing, sale and purchase of plastic bags (if it was already prohibited then strict implementation on such orders); and approval of settled matters between the KMC and Sindh-Balochistan Bus Owners regarding the Yousuf Goth intercity bus terminal.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2017