KARACHI, June 2: The prevailing water crisis dominated the debate of the City Council Karachi on Friday with both the treasury and opposition members trading charges against each other and trying to score political points.

The council’s Convenor, Masood Mehmood, set in motion the session when he tabled a resolution on K-III water project crisis submitted by the treasury benches.

Though the project’s importance was admitted by both sides, they gave credit for its initiation and execution to different persons.

Defending the resolution, Abdul Jalil of the treasury lauded the efforts of the City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal, for executing the project within four months.

The opposition members, however, criticised the resolution and blamed the treasury members of distorting facts.

They recalled that the project had been approved in April 2002, during the tenure of the former city nazim, saying that credit must be given to whom it was due.

Paying tributes to services of the former city nazim, they said it would be injust not to give credit to the former City Nazim, Niamatullah Khan, for the project.

Members of the opposition accused the bureaucracy of trying to deprive people of the project’s benefits, saying that attempts were being made to sabotage the project.

They said no attention was being paid to solve water shortage and sewerage problems on permanent bases.

Majid Baloch, Nazim of UC-6 of Lyari Town, and Mubark Sangoo of Gapopat UC, Keamari, told the house that water shortage problem in their UCs persisted despite repeated assurances by authorities concerned that it would be solved.

On this occasion, the house leader, Asif Siddique, on a point of order, reminded the house that Lyari had always been ignored by the opposition when their parties were in power.

He went on to say that it was for first time that the present city government had allocated billion of rupees for developing the area’s infrastructure.

His sarcastic remarks against a former mayor belonging to Lyari created an uproar in the opposition benches. However, the presiding officer controlled the situation and warned the member to desist from using derogative language. However, after a heated debate, two resolutions, tabled by the treasury benches, were presented and approved by the house by a majority vote.

One resolution, titled “Well-done Syed Mustafa Kamal”, praised the city nazim for executing the K-III by fulfilling his commitment made to the citizens.

The resolution also lauded the city nazim for laying a new 33 inch-dia water supply line in Lyari.

Syed Ghani charged that the opposition had been bulldozing their plans with brute majority.