KARACHI, July 18: The City District Government Karachi has failed to come up to the expectations of people living in hundreds of coastal villages, as nothing has been done for them despite tall claims since the city government's inception three years back.

"Coastal areas are still devoid of even basic facilities of potable water and health care etc, with the result that they are suffering from various water borne diseases," speakers said at a seminar on Sunday at Mubarak village located at the far end of Karachi.

The seminar was organized by the Peoples Doctors Forum in collaboration with the Pakistan Fisher folk Forum and World Wide Fund for conservation of nature in connection with "Ocean year 2004" declared by the UN. The PDF also organised a medical camp in the village where around 175 patients were given free treatment and medicines.

Addressing the seminar, the PFF chairman, Muhammad Ali Shah, said that people living in coastal areas were devoid of potable water health facilities, education, public transport etc.

"The entire area is faced with severe drought, giving it looks of Tharparkar. People have to buy potable water from hydrants in the city areas, and though they pay for it, they still have to wait for tankers for over weeks," he told.

"Since there is no maternity home at any village, pregnant women die here. They cannot even be rushed to any nearest city maternity home because of the dearth of public transport," he said, adding there was only one bus operating between Mubarak village and the city.

PDF chairman Dr Karim Khuwaja, Hot Khan Jamali of WWF, Sikandar Brohi of SZABIST, Dr Shafi Patoli and others also spoke. They highlighted the disaster caused by no discharge of river water into the sea that had resulted in elimination mangroves forests, and extinction of various species of fish etc.

Some other speakers revealed that 22 deep sea trawlers operating in the sea under government licenses had destroyed 400,000 tonnes of fish in a year just to catch 50,000 tonnes of their wanted ribbon fish. This had severely affected the livelihood of the local fishing community.

The discharge of thousands of tonnes of poisonous industrial effluents into the sea had also affected the livelihood of fishermen, they added. A resident of Mubarak Village told participants that there were 104 villages in Kabupat Union Council, but there existed no school in any of the village.

Dr Ismail Memon, Dr Sohail and other doctors, attending the medical camp, said that most villagers were suffering from malnutrition. According to them, skin diseases, chest problems, eye ailments, gastric problems etc were common there. It was found that there was no basic health unit far and near in the area.

In the end, participants of the seminar in a resolution demanded provision of basic facilities to coastal people, rejecting deep sea fishing licenses, imposing ban on wire nets, imposing ban on fishing during June and July with payment of compensation of Rs3,000 per month to each fisherman besides a ban on discharging poisonous effluent into the sea. Former MPA Lal Bux Bhutto, Jumman Darwan, Nazim UC Baloch Goth, PPP leader Iftikhar Kazi and others also attended. - PPI