HYDERABAD: Retired Justice Amir Hani Muslim, head of one-man Supreme Court-mandated commission on quality of water and drainage in Sindh, visited district hospital in Kotri on Friday and expressed displeasure over insanitary conditions at the public healthcare facility.

The judge noted that medical waste was found on the hospital’s boundary wall and overall cleanliness was not satisfactory but the medical superintendent passed the blame on to sanitation workers and said only six sweepers were working in place of 32.

He complained that four new operation theatres could not be made functional for want of staff. The Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences would provide a surgeon but the hospital also needed technical staff.

He said that contractor of generator had left the work without commissioning it.

The commission directed secretary of health to find out the contractor and appear before the commission on Aug 1.

The judge directed deputy commissioner to ensure cleanliness in the hospital through Kotri Municipal Committee and also directed the MS to provide list of doctors and paramedical staff working on deputation in the hospital.

He visited ponds of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro Town Committee and Sindh University and found the ponds of Jamshoro and Sindh University without boundary walls. He directed the university’s vice chancellor to appear before the commission on Aug 1.

The commission issued notice to town officer, accounts officer and chairman of the town committee asking them to appear before it on Aug 1 along with details of the amount received from the government and its utilisation in one year.

The commission asked Jamshoro DC and deputy assistant commissioner to visit ponds of Mehran University and submit report after election as to their status.

Official summoned for misleading govt

Earlier, Justice Muslim visited water supply scheme phase-two in Thatta where he was informed that former project director of Special Initiative Department (SID) had attempted to mislead the Sindh government by sending it a letter in violation of directives of the judicial commission.

He observed that the commission had passed an order on Feb 12, directing the public health engineering department (PHE) to take over the schemes the SID was maintaining since the SID stood abolished under a Supreme Court order and all its schemes stood transferred to PHE.

He said that the PD had sent letters to Sindh government to avoid accountability and convened meetings with planning and development department to get all the schemes handed over to the local government department. The commission said it was neither the spirit nor the object of its order.

The commission talked to secretary of local government over phone and directed him to appear before him on July 23 and also ensure presence of PD. The commission asked the PD to appear before it with an explanation. He would bring details of schemes, funds allocation, amount spent and status of schemes, said the judge.

During his visit of waterworks, a group of residents of Thatta complained to him that the water supplied to them was contaminated because lines of sewerage and water supply ran parallel and leakages in pipelines were not plugged.

The commission directed additional deputy commissioner-I to submit a detailed report on the issue. The ADC-I would regulate water supply through tankers to general public on reduced rates, he said.

The judge, during a visit to water supply scheme in Makli, noted leakage in pipes and called for their repairs. He noted that alum chamber was without alum and directed that Makli Town Committee ensure that 20kg bags of alum were in each chamber on a weekly basis starting from Friday.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2018