KARACHI, Dec 2: A new master plan is being formulated to solve the city’s problems.

This was stated by city Nazim, Naimatullah Khan, while speaking at a seminar on “Water Supply and Sewerage - problems and solutions,” organised by the Community Development Department here on Saturday.

Naimatullah said that Karachi was the country’s economic backbone but it had no master plan. in the past three master plans were formulated but none could be implemented.

However, he declared, the master plan being prepared now would be enforced throughout the city. The Nazim said that the city government would carry out all functions on the basis of merit. He said there was no denying the fact that Karachi did face water and sewerage problems and, to some extent, these problems could be solved by plugging leakages.

He pointed out that departments like KDA, KBCA, Water Board, police were are yet to be merged into the city government.

“We are waiting and once this process is completed, the city government will pursue a system which will be transparent and within the functional reach of the elected representatives,” Naimatullah declared.

Speaking on the occasion, former mayor Abdul Sattar Afghani said that some 40 percent water was going waste because of leakages. He was of the view that the KWSB could only be run by elected representatives.

He fully endorsed the view of the city Nazim that the amount of Rs6 billion to be spent on K-3 100 MGD water supply scheme should be given to the city government to be used to check water leakages.

He said that if this uphill task was accomplished and if even 10 percent water was saved from going waste, it would help provide 100,000 gallons of water daily.

Former administrator Fahim Zaman Khan said that water problem could be solved through judicious and equitable distribution of the existing water resources.

He referred to technical and administrative problems regarding water supply and sewerage, he said the distribution system was defective as in some areas water was supplied more than the quota and in some no water was supplied at all.—APP