KARACHI: Provincial Ministers Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Saeed Ghani while addressing a joint press conference here on Sunday said that 70 per cent of Karachi was under the management of cantonment boards, Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan Railways, KPT and other federal departments.

Addressing the conference at the commissioner office in Karachi, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said encroachment on drains did not occur during the PPP regime but before that.

“We have eliminated encroachments on many drains and cleaned them and this process is still going on.”

Drainage problems on Sharea Faisal during recent rains occurred in areas under the control of the federal government departments, like cantonment boards, Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan Railway, etc, he added.

“However, we ensured that drainage and cleaning process is done even in these areas through our day and night vigilance and labour.”

‘70pc of Karachi is managed by various agencies, not Sindh govt’

He said that out of 38 drains managed by the KMC in Karachi, 35 were still being cleaned by the Sindh government while NDMA and FWO were working only on three drains, which were also partially cleaned by the Sindh government last month.

He said that the condition of the city would be improved as the encroachments on stormwater drains would be eliminated without any consideration. He said that the ratio of rains in Karachi was proportionally more than the rest of the country but timely intervention by the Sindh government mitigated public suffering.

He said that all ministers, advisers and special assistants of the Sindh government were supervising relief operations in various districts of Sindh.

Education and Labour Minister Saeed Ghani said that the occupation of drains and land in Karachi did not take place in the PPP era and it was no secret that who did that.

They said the PPP government provided relief to all residents of the city without any discrimination and cleaned rainwater from all areas in limited time.

Mr Nasir said that 200,000 tonnes of waste were lifted from 36 drains of the city.

He said people had encroached drains since long time and constructed multi-storey buildings, petrol pumps and marriage halls on them.

The minister said the chief minister of Sindh personally visited Johi, District Dadu, to monitor rain and relief situation.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2020