MQM to launch month-long drive to rid Karachi of ‘garbage, unwanted elements’

Farooq Sattar says 720 corner meetings will take place on Wednesday to initiate cleanliness drive in six districts

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has announced to launch a month-long drive to reach out to the masses as well as clean garbage from Karachi.

“We are launching this drive to rid the city both of garbage and unwanted elements,” said party’s deputy convener Farooq Sattar while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters of Nine Zero on Tuesday.

“Tomorrow [Wednesday] we will begin the drive to contact the commoners and clear the prevailing confusions and then on March 10 a campaign will kick off to clear this city of garbage,” he added.



The move came just five days after former Karachi mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal levelled unprecedented allegations against MQM chief Altaf Hussain and announced to launch a new party with former Rabita Committee member Anees Qaimkhani.

On Monday, key MQM figure and MPA Dr Sagheer Ahmed joined the Kamal's party.

According to the deputy convener, they will ask people to participate in the campaign and create among themselves a sense of belonging, participation and ownership with the metropolis.

Sattar said that as many as 720 corner meetings will take place tomorrow to initiate the cleanliness drive in six districts and about 30 union councils of the city simultaneously.

“All our MNAs, MPAs, volunteers and other party workers will take place in the drive everyday from 10am to 5pm,” he added.

We are initiating this drive on our own and will arrange machinery by ourselves to make it a success, Sattar maintained.



The campaign, he said, will continue for at least a month and also include a plantation drive to increase the number of trees in the city.

Later on, the campaign will be dilated to Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas, the MQM leader added.