An aerial view of Karachi. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Information and Labour Saeed Ghani and Minister for Local Government, Religious Affairs and Forest Department Syed Nasir Hussain Shah inaugurated the annual Urs celebrations of Hazrat Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi on August 22, 2019.
The annual Urs of the holy saint is being celebrated from August 22 to 24.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, both ministers said that the Sindh Government, led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), fully owned Karachi and was carrying out development work in the port city, because it was a major contributor of revenue to the national exchequer.
Sindh govt capable of taking care of Karachi, Ghani tells Centre
Addressing the media, Ghani said that Mayor Waseem Akhtar was responsible for destruction caused across the city. He said that the Government of Sindh has disposed of 46,000 tonnes of waste after Ediul Azha.
The information minister said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Ali Zaidi had dumped the garbage extracted from storm water drains in parks and open spaces of the city, adding that it had multiplied the miseries of citizens.
Ghani said that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan always played a dirty role on the given agenda of others. The information minister said that Murad Ali Shah was still the chief minister of Sindh and it was useless to discuss his being ineligible for the office.
He said that the Sindh government will spend Rs125 billion for the development of the Karachi.
Ghani added that the mayor was claiming that he did not have any power, but the fact was that the Mayor had 80% of the power to lift the garbage in the city and was solely responsible for cleaning storm water drains.
LG minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, while talking to the media, said that all parks and grounds were encroached upon during the tenure of the previous local government of Muttahida Qaumi Movement and the party was responsible for the destruction of the city. He said that may be Mustafa Kamal and Waseem Akhtar, at the time, were working under immense pressure and the objectives of their leader at the time are now an open secret.
"Now, the new MQM is constituted as a result of 'Thakur sahib', but the city is facing problems as a result of their extortion, china-cutting and cruelties at the time," he said.
‘Clean Karachi’ campaign will continue, says Zaidi
The LG minister lashed out at the MQM, saying that when it was in power, it embezzled the funds of departments such as the KWSB, KDA and KMC and the money had become reason of dispute among its leaders. "Many things will be revealed in the days to come," he said, adding that the Sindh government always supported these organisations by giving billions of rupees in funds. He recalled that last year, the Government of Sindh had given Rs550 million under the head of cleaning of storm water drains. Shah lamented that if the drains had been cleaned properly then, the situation would not have been this bad during the current monsoon season.
The minister added that the CM has already ordered an inquiry to ascertain where the funds have been spent.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2019.
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