KARACHI, July 29: Socio-economic problems, including water shortage, unemployment and encroachment, have remained unresolved in Lyari Town for a long time, a survey shows.
Ordinary people in Chawkiwara, Kalakot, Baghdadi, Shah Beg Lane, Kalri and Khadda-Nawababad, who have always voted for the Pakistan People’s Party, now criticize the performance of the party’s local bodies representatives because of their failure to address their urgent civic problems.
Although the survey indicates that most people still support the PPP, there are others who have started looking for the alternatives.
In the face of multiplying socio-economic and intra-party problems, the PPP will, no doubt, face a tough time in the October elections, according to some observers.
Lyari’s NGOs point to the mounting civic problems in the area and blame the party’s leadership for its failure to solve them.
A few elderly people at Nawabad said the problems have been mounting because of population growth, adding that the “PPP’s vote-bank will erode if it failed to address the problems.”
The locality which has a large number of PPP voters has been facing acute water shortage and sewerage problem.
A diehard supporter of the PPP acknowledged that people have grown “disheartened”, because of multifarious problems, but he was confident that in absence of a strong opposition group the PPP will cross the bridge once again.
Lyari’s broken down and lightless roads, overflowing gutters, unauthorized apartments, unemployed youths, sprawling rubbish bins, mushroom growth of illegal bus terminuses in residential areas and pollution-filled environment are some of the problems which the PPP leadership has been unable to address.
With political and social groups pointing out that transport mafia is being patronized by the police, even the PPP is not optimistic about curbing the growing menace of illegal transport business in residential areas.
A restaurant owner in Lea Market claimed that transporters grease the palms of police for parking their vehicles on the road in front of their hotels.
For quite some time Lyari which has remained a peaceful oasis in a turbulent city, has been in the grip of terror owing to activities of crime mafia.
There has been a marked increase in burglaries, robberies, dacoities, shootings and encounters. The ugly incident of Kalri is still afresh in the minds of people.
Unrest is simmering among the people who have become restive day by day and this is tarnishing the image of the PPP.
