Murad Ali Shah takes stock of Karachi's street crime, water crisis

Sindh CM orders crackdown on drug mafia

KARACHI:  

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Sunday called for a crackdown against street criminals while chairing his first meeting at his official residence after assuming office.

He directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) that street crime must not only be controlled but eliminated.

Shah added that in his speech on the floor of the house he underscored that the maintenance of law and order would his utmost priority.

"This is why on Sunday I am holding this meeting," he said, adding that "street crime was undoing all the government efforts he had taken to restore law and order in the city, therefore a decisive action is required to eliminate this evil," he said.

The IGP told the chief minister that a targetted operation was underway and it would pay dividends.



The chief minister said that the targeted operation must be more focused in nature.

Shah directed him to make the SHOs responsible for controlling street crime, otherwise take strict action would be taken against them.

In the meeting Additional IG Karachi Dr Ameer Shaikh said that there was a powerful drug mafia behind street crimes in the city.

He added that those who are running the racket of beggars in the city are also involved in these crimes.

The chief minister directed the IG police to launch an operation against the drug mafia, including the peddlers and addicts.

"Just after Eid necessary measures would be taken to send the addicts to the rehabilitation centers or welfare organisations," he said.

He added that he did not want to see beggars standing on round abouts in the city.

"There should be an operation against them," he said.

IG Police briefing the chief minister on law and order said that there were six police Rangers in the province with a strength of 123,983 policemen.

He added that there were 30 police districts, and 623 police stations all over the province.

The chief minister said that if the population of the province is divided with the total strength of the police there would a ratio of 1 policeman for 410 people.

"This is not a bad ratio but we have to make the police more responsive, hardworking and dedicated to control the crime," he said.

Shah said that this would only be possible through capacity building  police.

The IG police told the chief minister that 10,269 policemen were receiving different trainings.

Water crises

Shah also expressed his serious reservations on the water shortage in Sindh during kharif season and directed the Irrigation department to submit a detail report of the losses caused to the sowing of paddy crop.

He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting on irrigational and drinking water issues at the CM House.



The meeting was attended by Secretary Irrigation Jamal Shah, Secretary Local Government Khalid Hyder Shah, Secretary Public Health Engineering Department Saeed Mangnijo, PD K-IV Asad Zamin and representative of water board.

The chief minister said that sowing of paddy crop in Sindh starts by second week of May but this year due to acute water shortage which was estimated at 40 per cent went up to 60 per cent as the the growers were late.

He added that those who had started cultivation in time suffered huge loss as their lands seedlings could not receive water.

He directed Secretary Irrigation to give him a detailed report within a week about the losses caused to paddy crop due water shortage.

Secretary irrigation Jamal Shah told the chief minister that water position started improving from July 15.

Giving current water position to the chief minister, he said that on Sunday Upstream Guddu 248,175 cusecs have been recorded while downstream it is 220,266.

He added upstream Sukkur water position is 198,770 and downstream 143,800 cusecs, Upstream Kotri 51840 cusecs and downstream 10,080 cusecs have been recorded.

The chief minister said that now the water situation is considerably better and directed the secretary Irrigation to ensure proper release of water in the irrigation system of Larkana, Dadu, Badin and Thatta.