Declare city ‘calamity-hit’, demands KCCI chief
Photo: File
Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president Agha Shahab Ahmed Khan has urged the government to immediately declare Karachi as "calamity-hit" city as several areas in the metropolis have been inundated by rainwater, hundreds of houses, particularly those situated in low-lying areas, have been flooded and a large section of population has been forced to confine itself to rooftops.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Khan stated that the federal and provincial governments should provide relief to people affected by downpours. He called for the provision of accommodation to displaced persons, financial support to them and authorities providing monetary support for the reconstruction of their destructed houses.
"It is purely the government's responsibility to ensure the security of people's properties," he emphasised.
Khan pointed out that former KCCI president Siraj Kassam Teli had been constantly highlighting problems pertaining to the shabby infrastructure of the country and asking the authorities to hand over the task of fixing it to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) under army's supervision for the next five years.
"The recent spell of torrential rainfalls has proven that the infrastructure of Karachi is in a pathetic condition and Teli's demand to engage the NDMA and FWO for rebuilding the infrastructure stands justified," he added.
He reiterated that the citizens of Karachi had been humiliated by being forced to commute on broken and worn-out roads all. And this is because of the government's sheer negligence towards the most pressing issues of the metropolis, he went on.
"Relevant departments in the province do not have the capacity and capability to undertake the gigantic task of rebuilding Karachi's infrastructure," he maintained, adding that the NDMA and FWO had the workforce and required technology to help the cause.
Shahab expressed hope that after witnessing the hardships suffered by Karachiites during recent rain spells, the federal and provincial governments would pay heed to the business community's demand of handing over the task of infrastructure rebuilding in Karachi to NDMA and FWO and release sufficient funds for the purpose.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2020.