HYDERABAD: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) has failed to fulfil its promise of ensuring uninterrupted power supply to pumping stations of Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) during rains.

He said during a visit to Wasa installations in different parts of the city on Wednesday that overall administrative measures to address rain emergency were satisfactory.

He said that post-rain situation in Hyderabad this year was much better although rainfall amount was same as the last year. In Karachi, 100-year record of rainfall had been broken this year, he said.

He said the situation was much better but there was still rainwater flooding low-lying areas as pumping stations could not dispose of rainwater because machines could not work to full capacity due to non-supply of electricity.

He said that power breakdown had affected the machines’ efficiency. He had spoken to Hesco and federal government to ensure uninterrupted power supply to pumping stations, he said.

He said the government was trying to resolve these problems. Pumping stations of Wasa did not get dual source of power supply as was promised by Hesco, he said.

He said that Wasa was an autonomous body which was assisted by Sindh government. The agency was supposed to earn its own revenue still the Sindh government would keep helping Wasa whenever required, he said.

He was accompanied by MNA Tariq Shah, MPAs Sharjeel Inam Memon, Abdul Jabbar Khan and Jam Khan Shoro, adviser Shabbir Hussain Bijarani, Usman Almani, Saghir Qureshi, Ahsan Abro and others.

The chief minister visited Latifabad sewerage disposal-II station, different pumping stations in Latifabad and Qasimabad and low-lying areas.

At Qadamgah Maula Ali, he directed DC Hyderabad to ensure proper arrangements for visitors and mourners. He was told that all machines were working.

Earlier, the chief minister told journalists during a visit to Tando Mohammad Khan that the administration had made proper arrangements for rain emergency considering the fact that exceptional rains were expected this year.

He expressed his satisfaction over the performance of the civil administration and directed Hyderabad Commissioner Abbas Baloch to declare all the cities ‘rain-affected’ where massive rain-related damage had been reported so that relief could be provided to people in time.

He blamed federal government for the schemes that had been left halfway in Tando Mohammad Khan and said that federal government did not release funds to Sindh government as per its due share.

The CM was accompanied by provincial minister Mukesh Kumar, his adviser Shabbir Bijarani and special assistant Qasim Naveed in the Tando Mohammad Khan visit.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2020