HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry has demanded of Prime Minister Imran Khan to announce a Rs10 billion special package for the city in the budget of 2019-20.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, chamber president Mohammad Farooq Shaikhani said that riots, disturbances and then broken civic infrastructure had relegated Hyderabad to the bottom of the list of developed cities. He said those conditions had also forced industrialists to shift their businesses to other cities for want of basic amenities.

He said Hyderabad had been ruined while degradation and decline in its infrastructure continued.

He regretted that the Sindh government and civic agencies lacked seriousness to handle the situation and resolve basic issues. He observed that government departments failed to discharge their responsibilities.

Mr Shaikhani said that a 100-bed hospital and university should be set up in Hyderabad by the federal government in line with its promise. He said the federal government should allocate Rs10bn and ensure development under supervision of the governor.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2019