KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday ordered Inspector General of Police Amjad Javed Saleemi to launch a crackdown on street criminals and drug mafia to eliminate such crimes.

He further directed the IG to ensure proper maintenance of law and order during the Eid days. After Eid, a comprehensive plan be worked out to make Karachi free of street crimes, he said, adding that a similar plan be chalked out for the rest of Sindh.

The chief minister sought a detailed report from the irrigation secretary on losses to the paddy crop due to water shortage and asked the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board to ensure proper supply of water to Karachiites during Eid days.

The chief minister issued these orders while presiding over two separate meetings, one on law and order and the other on water supply situation.

Speaking at the law and order meeting, the chief minister said maintenance of law and order would be his top priority.

Street crime was undoing all the efforts he had taken to restore law and order to Karachi, therefore a decisive action was required to eliminate this evil, he said.

He suggested that SHOs be made responsible for controlling street crime, otherwise strict action would be taken against them.

The IGP said that a targeted operation was in progress and it would definitely produce good results.

Additional IG Karachi Dr Ameer Shaikh said that drug mafia as well as other mafias including patrons of beggars, were involved in street crimes.

The chief minister directed the IG police to launch operation against drug mafia and arrange for sending drung addicts to rehabilitation centres. He said he did not want to see beggars standing on roundabouts and roads.

The chief minister said if the population of the province was divided with the total strength of the police there would a ratio of one policeman for 410 people. “This is not a bad ratio but we have to make the police more responsive, hardworking and dedicated to control crime, which will be possible with capacity-building of the police.”

Giving details of general law and order situation, the IG told the chief minister that a campaign to arrest all proclaimed offenders was in progress and the police stations’ record was also being updated.

Water issue

Presiding over a meeting on water issues, the chief minister expressed his serious concern over water shortage in Sindh during Kharif season and directed the irrigation department to submit a detail report on losses caused to the sowing of paddy crop.

Recalling that sowing of paddy crop in Sindh starts by the second week of May, he noted that up to 60 per cent growers got very late this year due to an acute shortage of water.

Those who started cultivation in time suffered huge losses as their land did not get water, he said.

Irrigation secretary Jamal Shah told the chief minister that water position had started improving from July 15.

He said that at present (on Sunday) the upstream Guddu recorded a flow of 248,175 cusecs while at downstream it was 220,266.

He added that upstream Sukkur water position was 198,770 and downstream 143,800 cusecs while upstream Kotri was 51,840 cusecs and downstream 10,080 cusecs.

The chief minister directed the secretary to ensure proper release of water in the irrigation system of Larkana, Dadu, Badin and Thatta and ensure provision of water to tail-enders.

Public health engineering department secretary Saeed Mangnejo informed the chief minister that there were 220 ongoing water and sewerage development schemes in the province and 66 of them were completed. Twenty 26 were at an advance stage of completion and would be completed by September 2018, he added.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2018

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