‘Offal’ job done well, says mayor

Wahab claims over 0.1m tonnes of sacrificial animals' remains carried off to landfill sites

KARACHI:

Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab has said that during the days of Eidul Azha, 113,035 tons of offal and sacrificial waste were removed from the city, and more than 24,000 staff members worked day and night, for which “I am grateful to the staff, elected representatives, and concerned officers.” Addressing a news conference at Clifton Park on Sunday, the mayor said, “Only with unity, we can solve the problems of the citizens, we will work with the same spirit in the monsoon rains, all was done not by the critics or their party but by the hard work of the local bodies.”

Wahab further said that on the first day of Eid, he had said on the polo ground that the staff will be seen working and appealed to the citizens to cooperate so that they can serve the public. For the last five days, the civic administration has been working day in and day out for which I thank them. I am grateful to all the officers of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB), the District Administration, the Town Chairmen, and the staff members, they all worked together with love and affection.

I visited every town and saw the pace of work. Alhamdulillah, the sacrificial waste and offal were collected in a good manner. The process of picking the offal and sacrificial waste started a day before Eid as the Bohri community performs the sacrifice a day before. Perhaps the critics found out for the first time in 75 years when the Bohri community celebrates Eid a day earlier while the Ahl al-Hadith community offers sacrifices till day-four of Eidul Azha. He said that 1,13,035 tons of Eidspecific garbage was disposed of, including the garbage that was picked up from the city daily.

More than 24,000 staff members were working this year. This year boy scouts also helped us. I am also grateful to all my friends in the media. The media did positive reporting and pointed out the problems. With the help of the media, it was possible to clean up some places immediately. Wahab said that the offal were somewhere seized by people who were tearing them with knives.

“We immediately contacted the police, 115 people were arrested and legal action was taken against them.” The garbage was prevented from falling from the vehicles while carrying it to the landfill sites. A few people made selfies and pictures while sitting on waste and tweeted them. Karachi is an unfortunate city where social media showed the city as dirty, but positive people also appreciated the efforts of the administration. Garbage is not picked up anywhere in the world for 24 hours continuously. Likewise, garbage is not picked up day and night, while in Karachi, the garbage was picked up well before the designated time.

“Although we were mocked for taking selfies at some places, when those places were cleared, they made victory signs and took pictures as if they cleared the area,” he said taking swipe at his distractors. However, people know very well that the cleaning was done by none other than the local administration. Mayor Karachi said that the critics or the workers of their party did not clean up, it was done by the staff of the SSWMB. My question is, did they carry the offal to Jam Chakro themselves? They just carried the waste from the houses and put it on the corner of the street.

The staff of the SSWMB picked up the offal from the corner of the street. We are slowly completing the task of cleaning the city. The next challenge is the monsoon rains, the staff will be there to clear the drains. In response to a question, mayor Karachi said that this city has seen the worst of times and now good times have arrived and we are seriously solving the problems of the city. “Hafiz Naeemur Rahman is a simple man, he does not know that I am the chairman of the Solid Waste Management Board as well. The MD