High-level meeting finds no solution to Hyd issues

Problems of the city like unsafe drinking water, pollution of waterways, poor road infrastructure and a non-existent traffic management are unlikely to find some solutions in the near future. A meeting, with Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Asif Hyder Shah in the chair, held in Hyderabad on Thursday to discuss development projects primarily with the bureaucracy, ended up with no decisions made in this regard.

The CS referred to a persistent problem of revenue shortfall faced by Hyderabad Water and Sewerage Board Corporation (HW&SBC) and underlined that supplying clean drinking water is among the government's priorities. He also said, the pumping stations of HW&SBC ought to be provided express electricity feeders so that the hinderance in pumping out rainwater could be done away with.

However, no plans were announced about implementing the safe drinking water regime even though the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on September 16 in its report disclosed that all the six filtration plants of HW&SBC are supplying unsafe and raw water. "Deputy Commissioner Zainul Abedin Memon pleaded the case for approving a non-ADP scheme for installing chlorinators at the filtration plants," an official, who requested anonymity, told The Express Tribune.

According to him, Commissioner Bilal Memon and the DC briefed the CS that due to absence of chlorination process, the citizens are exposed to health risks.

The municipal, commercial, hospital and industrial wastewater, generated in Hyderabad, is being dumped in the Indus River and its canals which flow through the city. But no word about any treatment plant was released in the official handout. The poor road infrastructure and causes of damage to newly constructed or renovated roads also found no mention.

Speaking at the meeting, the CS acknowledged that the officers complain about delays in the release of the development funds but this is also a fact that they do not utilise the available funds timely.

He recalled that in 2015 a drainage pumping station in Hyderabad was kept shut for long just because of a repair work which required a meagre expenditure of Rs2,500.

Chairman Planning and Development Syed Najam Shah assured that the problem of shortage of funds will be addressed but the officers should honestly spend the funds. He asked the officers to float tenders of all the pending schemes which have been approved by the government.

Commissioner Hyderabad admitted that presently no master plan existed for the city which is expanding in a haphazard way, becoming an additional challenge.

The commissioner informed the meeting that the buildings of many government schools in Hyderabad division have become rickety owing to which they had to announce holidays during the recent rainfall.