KARACHI, June 22: The proceedings of the City Council’s budget session were repeatedly interrupted as opposition members refused to listen to City Nazim’s budget speech, and created rumpus by protesting and shouting slogans.

The opposition members were wearing black arm-bands, and they stood up as soon as proceedings started and tried to draw the attention of the Nazim towards their grievances.

The City Nazim, Mustafa Kamal, however, did not listen to the noise and remained unmoved by the pandemonium created by the Opposition. He continued to read his budget speech amid thumping of desks by the treasury benches.

As soon as Nazim started presenting the budget, opposition councillors, led by Awam Dost councillors Saeed Ghani, Sheikh Mehbub and Al-Khidmat Rafique Ahmed, unfurled placards in the house and tore copies of the budget document and kept on shouting slogans.

The placards carried by UC councillors pertained to their demand for provision of water, electricity and improvement of sewerage system.

As the Nazim ignored protests, the opposition continued to interrupt his speech by thumping desks and shouting slogans. The treasury members welcomed the Nazim’s speech with thumping of desks intermittently.

Chaos and confusion prevailed in the house until the opposition councillors staged a walkout.

It appeared that the opposition has decided to give a tough time to the treasury benches. Political battle lines were also evident, as seen from the walkout by the opposition who later raised slogans of Jeay Bhutto, while the treasury benches raised pro-Altaf and Haq Parast slogans at the end of the budget speech.

The budget speech of the City Nazim started at 3. 45pm and ended at 4.15pm. The house was adjourned for June 26 when the city council will start debate on the budget.

Later, talking to newsmen Awam Dost councillors Saeed Ghani, and Al-khidmat’s Rafique Ahmed said they wanted to present to the Nazim some pressing problems of the people as he was not attending the session of the council regularly.

They pointed out that there are complaints for the UC Nazims that they had been facing a lot of the problems to meet the City Nazim and thus they could not present their grievances to the nazim regarding allocation of funds.

Moreover, they said there was no mechanism for utilization of funds earmarked for UCs and “we want all these clarifications from the Nazim.”

They said most of the development projects were approved by the previous city government, but the present city government was trying to take its credit.

The opposition councillors said the Karachi city had been ruined because of defective planning of the present City government, adding development works were being carried out in haphazard way as a result city had been defaced.

The opposition councillors went on to say that nowhere in the world, development works have been carried out in a haphazard manner, which have resulted in a chaos and confusion in every sector.

They argued that there was a traffic chaos, and people were facing water and electricity crises and their houses were being demolished.

They also said that Keamari, Lyari, Bin Qasim and Gadap towns have been ignored as fare as mega projects are concerned, and the talk of development in Lyari was mere a propaganda.

Al-Khidmat leader Rafique Ahmed maintained that the previous city government had constructed a diagnostic centre for poor people, but the same was converted into a residential place for the City Nazim, saying the policies of the present city government are not pro-poor people although it claims to be a representative of the poor.

He said the purpose of carrying out development in a haphazard manner was meant to mint more and more money.

He pointed out that some of the vital projects, approved by the previous government, such as Malir-Korangi bridge, had been halted and appointments of lawyers and doctors were being made directly.

He termed the budget a bundle of lies, saying attempts have been made to hoodwink people by jugglery of words.