KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday directed the managing director of the Sindh Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) and others to build remaining jetties and watchtowers at the Keenjhar Lake within two months and complete the exercise of registration of boats in a month to ensure safety of picnickers.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar also asked the district judge of Thatta to conduct a physical inspection of the lake and submit a report whether compliance as shown in the progress report had been made or not.

The bench while taking the progress report on record observed that it had shown substantial compliance of its earlier orders.

The Combined Competitive Examination-2020 will be supervised by SHC officials to ensure merit, transparency

It directed the STDC chief and other officials concerned to ensure strict vigilance and further compliance of the directions issued by the bench within two months.

The bench directed the MD to come up with a further progress report on Dec 15.

When the bench took up a petition regarding drowning incidents in the lake, STDC chief Aijaz Ahmed Shaikh along with the lake manager appeared in court and filed a progress report regarding different tasks assigned to STDC for Keenjhar Lake under the chairmanship of the Hyderabad commissioner.

The report said that one jetty had been built and three others would be built once the water level goes down.

When the bench asked about the time frame, the MD replied that there was possibility that water level would go down within two months.

The report stated that a ticket counter had been built with all essential equipment/accessories, but it would become functional when a committee, after registration of boats, would allow them to take visitors.

The bench again asked the MD as to when the boats would be registered, to which he responded that all the boats would be registered within a month.

He added that fitness of boats would be approved and for this purpose a committee had been formed to ensure safe boat riding and regulate boating activity.

The report further maintained that as soon as the boats would be registered the policy would be implemented while life jackets would also be kept at the ticket counter as well as on boats and nine divers and rescue boats with staff would also be stationed at strategic points.

It was further asserted in the report that a route was fixed within two kilometres area of Keenjhar from the resort and safety sign boards had been installed for awareness and three watchtowers would be built as soon as the water level goes down.

“A committee has been constituted and the area police are on board to stop fishing boats to enter the picnic area and police have also established a visitor facilitation centre,” it said, adding: “The rescue centre with all essential equipment/accessories are established by STDC and staff was provided by health department while the CCTV cameras are installed.”

The progress report further said that the shrine of Noori Jam Tamachi was not safe for visitors to disembark and nobody would be allowed to get off from the boat at the tomb.

Advocate Nadeem Shaikh had moved the SHC after a drowning incident at the lake in 2017 and submitted that the court had also issued direction to evolve standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding boats.

He submitted that 10 more picnickers from Karachi drowned in the lake in April this year as despite court orders, there was no mechanism/policy for boats which were packed beyond capacity and there was no safety gear.

SHC officials to supervise CCE

Another division bench has ruled that the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) 2020 would be supervised by the officials of the SHC in order to ensure merit and transparency.

The bench headed by Justice Nadeem Akhtar directed the officials to ensure that the entire process of the CCE-2020 was held strictly in accordance with law, relevant rules and regulations as well as the Supreme Court’s judgement handed down in March 2017 in a suo motu case.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by one of the candidates appearing in the CCE-2018 alleging irregularities and malpractices in the exam process on part of authorities concerned and sought a restraining order not to declare the final results.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2020