HYDERABAD: Appreciating Pakistan army’s services for relief and rescue operation, parliamentarians of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Wednesday accused the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of destroying urban areas of the province.

It was due to their inattention that city centres still remained under rainwater, the Muttahida leaders said.

Addressing a joint press conference at a wedding hall in Latifabad, MNAs Sabir Kaim­khani and Salahuddin, and MPAs Nadeem Siddiqui and Nasir Qureshi said that soon after rainfall on July 29, all officers of the Sindh government, Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and Hyderabad Develop­ment Authority (HDA) had “disappeared”.

“People are forced to migrate from their home in Unit-2 of Latifabad to other areas,” they said. They accused the Sindh government of showing its “hatred” towards the urban areas of Hyderabad.

Terming Sindh chief minister’s visit to the city as a “publicity stunt”, they said the MQM-P strongholds were neglected in development sector in past 10 years; that was why those areas were submerged in rainwater.

They said they had informed federal ministers belonging to the MQM-P about the situation and that was why in Tuesday’s federal cabinet meeting, those (MQM) ministers briefed the prime minister on the issue after which under federal government’s directives, the army started rescue work.

They warned that if the Sindh government did not give up its biased approach, they knew how to deal with it. They said the administration had prior information of rainfall. The drainage issue had created serious problems as the people of Latifabad and Qasimabad were now stranded.

They stated that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority did not take any step and despite passage of four days, water could not be drained out.

They also demanded a survey of damage in those areas and payment of compensation, and called for an inquiry to determine why electricity breakdown continued for 20 hours.

They said an inquiry should also be conducted against the district administration, Wasa and Hyderabad Electric Supply Company. They observed that the Sindh chief minister did not contact any elected member of the MQM-P from Hyderabad.

They said that after holding meeting with the commissioner for three hours, they had realised that the administration would do nothing, though officers told them that contractors had been provided funds.

They said the relief operation started only after army personnel arrived. Had the Sindh government started working in time, the situation would have been different, they added.

They said a sewerage pumping station was established during the district government of the MQM-P. They said the provincial government was showing indifference to Hyderabad and after the Supreme Court-appointed water commission, some schemes had been shelved.

They demanded that the management of Wasa should be placed under the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and added that the mayor of Hyderabad was supposed to seek permission from the local government department before carrying out development works.

Earlier, angry residents of Unit-2 of Latifabad tried to prevent MQM MPA Rashid Khilji and joint zonal in charge Naveed Abbasi from holding the press conference.

Inhabitants were furious over the fact that they were not provided relief despite the passage of three days and rainwater was standing in their homes had left them stranded.

They took two local leaders to Unit-2 areas submerged under rainwater and raised slogans against Hyderabad acting Mayor Sohail Mashhadi.

People surrounded them and exchanged hot words with them. The residents said rainwater being drained out from Unit-9 was entering Unit-2, which must be stopped.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2019