The much touted about fire equipment procured by the federal government was handed over to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and other bodies at a ceremony held at the Sindh Governor House on Sunday.
Addressing the event, former Karachi mayor Wasim Akhtar lauded the Centre's move and chided the Pakistan Peoples Party-led provincial government.
It is good news for Karachi that an effort has been made to improve the service of KMC's fire department, said Akhtar. It was the responsibility of the Sindh government but it did not pay attention to his request in this regard, added the former mayor, while thanking the federal government for taking the initiative.
"The provision of fire-fighting equipment is positive but, unfortunately, the KMC does not have enough drivers to drive them nor the money to buy diesel for them," remarked the Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan leader.
The former mayor demanded of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to immediately approve the summary of fire risk allowance, which, he claimed, has been facing delays for the past 13 months.
The government of Sindh has not been paying the share of the legally approved taxes for the past 13 years and the municipal corporation has not been receiving its complete share of octroi taxes either, decried Akhtar.
As many as 24 of the 50 recently imported fire tenders were received by the KMC while the remaining fire trucks and two bowsers were distributed between the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry, North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry, North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry, FB Area Association of Trade and Industry, Bin Qasim Association of Trade and Industry, SITE Association of Trade and Industry, Export Processing Zone Authority and Bin Qasim Park. Moreover, the Saylani Welfare Trust and Sindh Rangers were given two fire tenders each while the Korangi Creek Industrial Park and Karachi Chamber of Commerce received one each.
Also read: SBCA, KMC in hot water
Handing over the 50 fire tenders and two bowsers to the different recipients, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail censured the provincial government as well.
The mayor of a city is called the father of the city but stripped of his powers and funds, the mayor of Karachi was rendered "helpless," said the governor. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader apprised that Rs460 million tax was waived off for the fire fighting equipment - that was imported from China at a cost of Rs1.4 billion under the Centre's Karachi package - after approval by the premier and the Federal Board of Revenue. Ismail added that Rs6.5m tax was also waived off by the Karachi Port Trust, where the fire equipment had first reached.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has given special instructions to meet the expectations of people regarding development works in the metropolis, said Ismail.
The governor further said that the PTI-led federal government has decided to employ public private partnership models for the betterment of the city. Industrial associations, Sindh Rangers and the Saylani Welfare Trust are the party's allies and it is to them that the Centre has decided to hand over the fire equipment, the governor said.
These allies are not investing but they have been assigned responsibilities, elaborated Ismail.
Moreover, the governor claimed that Rs24b have been earmarked for the Sindh Infrastructure Development Corporation and Rs11b have been spent on the Green Line Bus project in the past three years. Besides, Ismail said, hospitals are to be built in every district of Sindh after approval by the premier. A model hospital has already been set up in this regard, he said.
Karachi Administrator Laeeq Ahmed, the Chinese consul general and PTI lawmakers also attended the ceremony.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 15th, 2021.
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