DHA residents take to the streets again

Demand withdrawal of FIR against protesters; call for more demonstrations

KARACHI:

A day after the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) lodged a case against protesters, the residents of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) staged another protest on Thursday, this time outside the DHA office.

They demanded an audit of the residential authority's accounts, made calls for further demonstrations and censured DHA for failing to rectify the situation after a torrential downpour wreaked havoc in the upscale neighbourhood. Besides, they sought the withdrawal of the FIR registered against those who held a similar demonstration outside the CBC office on Monday.

Meanwhile, with the call for the Thursday protest doing rounds on social media, DHA officials, in a pre-emptive move, had called riot police to the site, while also blocking off roads in the office's vicinity with containers the previous day and beefing up security in the area.

The protesters, though, were undeterred.

Men, women, children and the elderly turned out and, staging a sit-in outside the DHA office, vowed to highlight the plight of Karachiites.

They demanded that DHA officials repair the damage caused to their properties as a consequence of the heavy rain.

"We have been suffering for the past eight days but our cries for help continue to fall on deaf ears as none of the senior DHA officials pay any heed to our complaints," said a riled up protester. "Rainwater continues to flood the streets and alleys due to blocked sewers and, now polluted by waste and sewage, it has started giving off a foul smell engulfing all of DHA."

Moreover, the protesters decried the days-long electricity suspension to areas where the rainwater had not yet been drained. They pointed out that pooled water also served as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which could lead to an outbreak of diseases.

But it was not just the quandary of the residents of DHA, they said, adding that people across the city as well as those living in its suburbs were facing the same ordeal. "Their grievances are not heard, but the residents of DHA will not remain silent on this oppression and abuse," the protesters pledged.

They vowed to continue to raise their voice for their rights and, inviting people from across the city to join them, announced a protest at Frere Hall today (Friday) and another one at Numaish Chowrangi on Sunday.

Midway through the protest, DHA officials tried to negotiate with the protesters, claiming they would review the drainage situation, but to no avail.

Rather than being placated, the protesters became more strident in their criticism, lambasting DHA for "collecting huge amounts in taxes and failing to provide basic facilities."

They pointed out that residents across DHA had to spend money on water tankers and said the recent rains had "exposed the DHA administration's incompetence."

The protest was the second one in what is developing into a series of demonstrations, with two more to be held this week.

At the previous protest, presenting a seven-point agenda, the protesters demanded the resignation of the CBC CEO and the DHA administrator, the clearance of rainwater within three days, the provision of clean water and restoration of the electricity and gas supply within 24 hours, the reconstruction of infrastructure and water drainage system within 30 days, a forensic audit of CBC and DHA accounts, and an anti-bacterial spray drive in the area.

On Wednesday, the Darakhshan police registered a case against 22 named and other unidentified protesters who had gathered outside the CBC office.

The FIR, registered on behalf of the office security supervisor, Munawar Hussain, accuses the nominated protesters of vandalism, scuffling with the police and issuing threats to CBC officials.