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KARACHI, Sept 23: The Nazim of Karachi, Naimatullah Khan, has sought the cooperation of philanthropists in enhancing the recreational facilities with the development of parks on land earmarked for this purpose.
The Nazim said mohallah parks could also be developed on a community basis and as such the mohallah people should take interest in the development of their parks.
He stated this while talking to people in various areas during a visit to Union Councils 10 and 11 on Sunday.
The Nazim visited for four hours Railway Colony, Reti Line, Chaudhry Rehmat Ali Road, Bath Island, Factory Colony, Boating Basin, Kehkashan, Neelam Colony, Shah Rasool Colony, Shirin Jinnah Colony and various areas of Gizri.
On the occasion, people told the City Nazim about the problems of these kutchi abadis relating to water supply, sewerage and lease rights.
Taking notice of the bad sewerage conditions in Shah Rasool Colony, the Nazim issued directive for the solution of the problem.
Regarding sewerage and tankers’ problems in Shirin Jinnah Colony, Naimatullah Khan called for report from the officials concerned.
He asked the councillors and union Nazimeen to submit written petitions regarding their problems so that these were properly identified and steps taken for their solution.
The Nazim told the people that special attention was being paid to the solution of problems of kutchi abadis and for the first time in this city’s history, a survey of kutchi abadis had been carried out so that their water and sewerage problems could be solved.
He said water shortage was a problem of the whole city. However, the government was making efforts to overcome this problem.
He said a complete survey of sewerage had been carried out in kutchi abadis.
PROTEST: Due to the mixing of sewerage lines with drinking water lines, citizens of the city in general and of Jamshed Town in particular are being afflicted by various diseases including diarrhoea and hepatitis-B.
Blocks of the Karachi Administrative Society, PECHS, Liaquat Ashraf Colony, Chanaser Goth, Mehmoodabad, Green Belt, Dada Bhoy Town, Allama Iqbal Colony, Parsi Colony and Baloch Para are the worst affected areas in this regard.
Groups of people were witnessed protesting in front of the offices of Nazimeen against the situation with banners demanding the dismissal of the responsible officials of the KWSB.
People say that Nazimeen are not found in their offices whenever one tries to contact them for the solution of a problem, and politics has virtually taken over the offices of the KWSB.
Candidates of the forthcoming elections are taking advantage of this situation, promising people that hey would solve these problems if voted into power. Misconceptions are being created among people that the old commissionerate system was better than the district government system.
Clarifying their positions, Nazimeen of Union Councils 4, 5, 6 and 7, Saeed Ghani, Imran Saeed Baghpati, Saifuddin, Zahid Saeed and Town Councillor Noor-ul-Islam of Jamshed Town have issued a joint statement, saying that the situation is the result of the dereliction of duties by personnel of the KWSB, and is affecting development schemes being carried out all over the city.
The treatment plant must be maintained instead of spending Rs227 million on new sewerage lines. The Mahmoodabad incident shows that the lines are full of sand and have not been cleaned for a long time, and there is no bypass system to improve the situation.
Lines of sewerage water must be isolated from drinking water lines. A storm water drain was constructed over a stream in Manzoor Colony but was covered. No arrangements were made for its cleanliness.
They stressed the need for cleaning the existing lines immediately, otherwise in winter, the workforce would be unable to complete this job.—APP/PPI
