MPAs criticise govt for lack of safe drinking water in Sindh

Budgetary allocations mean nothing when people have no potable water, say opposition leaders

KARACHI: The issue of the provision of safe drinking water dominated the Sindh Assembly proceedings on Monday as members took up the issue and asked the government to take drastic measures to ensure its provision.

"The budget is being increased in every sector yet people living in Sindh have no potable water," accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman in his budget speech.

Zaman said taxes are being increased with each passing day but people have no tap water. He said that Karachi is the provincial capital and economic hub of Pakistan but provincial government has neglected it, allocating only Rs12 billion for the city, which is less than other divisions. "It looks like Karachi city is not on the government's priority list," he remarked. "Government ministers laud their government's efforts but no one cares that people of 13 districts of Sindh are deprived of potable water," criticised the PTI MPA.



He accused the Sindh government of violating rules of merit in government jobs and being responsible for the declining education standard in the province. "Degrees are being sold in the market. The incumbent government has done nothing in the last nine years. I fail to understand why the National Accountability Bureau is not taking action against them," he said.

Shafi Jamote of the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) drew the attention of the House towards Manchar Lake, one of the largest lakes in Asia, and asked the government to revive it. "It has turned into a poisonous lake where people living on its edges cannot even drink water," he said, adding that the government has allocated an amount for a colony for fishermen but must also consider preserving fishermen's livelihood. Jamote, who belongs to the Ibrahim Hyderi area of Karachi, asked the provincial government to take action against the mafia involved in lifting sand and gravel from Malir. "Section 144 has been imposed against the lifting of gravel but nothing is being done," he accused.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Sharmila Faruqi appreciated the Sindh government for allocating 27% budget for education and said that opposition members just want to criticise the government. "In this budget Rs6.5 billion has been allocated for lady health workers, which is a good omen," she said, adding that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and its mayor are making a fuss over funds for Karachi.



"I want to inform them [the MQM] that Karachi is dear to us and we have allocated around Rs70 billion for it. They are afraid because the PPP is working for masses in Karachi," she said, adding that the K-IV project will meet the water requirements of the citizens.

MQM's Mohammad Zubair said development work has been started in selected areas, especially in PPP constituencies. "Hyderabad is located on the bank of the Indus River but its water is not drinkable. We have been making hue and cry about this on this very floor but government has turned a blind eye to our concerns," he accused.

PPP leader Manzoor Wasan said that the MQM and PML-Functional are criticising the PPP government now but they had looted and plundered public funds during former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf's tenure. "They have set a precedent of corruption but now consider themselves holy cows," Wasan said, adding that PML-F workers and local leaders have made the lives of people miserable in Khairpur Mir district where they are extort money from oil companies exploring gas and oil fields in the area. "They have encroached upon most of the forest department land," he claimed.

PPP's Murtaza Baloch, who won the by-election from Malir, appreciated the government for creating 49,000 jobs in the budget and said that PPP would sweep the upcoming election in entire country.



PTI MPA Dr Seema Zia raised the issue of women harassment at work places and requested the chief minister and other concerned authorities to take notice of it.  "A bill against women harassment has been presented in all assemblies except Sindh, so the government should consider [passing one]," she said.

Dr Zia said people living in Karachi cannot vote for those people who only become active for photo sessions. "Recently, the government inaugurated the newly renovated Tariq Road from where it misappropriated huge sums of money by using substandard material," she accused, adding that no street in Karachi is free of garbage but government is unwilling to give power to the mayor.

Minister for Planning and Development Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani acknowledged the opposition members' grievances about the water crisis and said, "We are remodeling drinking water lines and funding has been allocated for the same in the upcoming budget".