Cleanliness Week: Hyderabad to clear their gutters by June 28

Storm drains and waste heaps to be cleared in preparation for the monsoons

HYDERABAD:

The District Government Hyderabad (DGH) kicked off a cleanliness drive to clear out garbage dumps and remove blockages in sewer lines to prepare for the monsoon rains.

Provincial ministers, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Zahid Bhurgari and Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Zubair Ahmed inaugurated the campaign on Wednesday after a press conference at the Shahbaz Building on Wednesday. It will continue for seven days during which they will attempt to clear all storm drains and nullahs of sludge.

Waste heaps are to be collected and disposed of in remote areas tens of kilometres away from the city. Bhurgari, who is the fisheries minister, urged residents to help with the campaign while rural development minister, Zubair Ahmed, spoke of adopting long term cleaning measures for the city.

The city tehsils suffer from the lack of a regular waste system, negligence from the civic service staff and open sewerage systems.

Bhurgari claims that last years floods and the relief efforts led to halts in the progress of many schemes including sewerage.

“A sewerage treatment plant is under construction in Qasimabad and 50 per cent of the work has been completed,” he said. “The project would have been completed by now, had cuts for the floods not been made.”

The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) is also facing a severe financial crunch, he added.

“Their employees haven’t been paid salaries for three to four months,” said Bhurgari. “How can they be held responsible then?”

He said that they have asked the Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) and Wasa to give recommendations for funding from the provincial government. The HDA is an independent body which meets all its expenses from the revenue it generates through its subsidiaries such as Wasa and the Buildings Department. Last year, however, Wasa only recovered 34 per cent of their dues because people did not pay their water and drainage bills.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd,  2011.