Mirpurkhas stinks as funds go down the drain
The head sweeper looks prominent sitting on a chair issuing instructions while drain divers try to clear a clogged gutter to allow rainwater to flow out on a street in Hyderabad on Friday. Photo: Express
Over a million residents of Mirpurkhas are struggling to survive amidst a sea of garbage, sewage, and decay.
The once thriving city has been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self, with crumbling infrastructure, overflowing drains, and streets littered with trash.
The citizens told The Express Tribune that the population of Mirpurkhas has crossed one million, yet no body in power seems to care! The city has turned into a slum. The roads in the city are in disrepair.
For the people of poor city, every day is a battle for basic necessities like clean water, sanitation, and healthcare. The city's elected representatives and administration seem to have abandoned them. The people have been left at the mercy of the only Provider now.
Union Committee gets a budget of Rs1.2 million every month. The statistics are staggering with 18 Union Committees, two Town Municipal Chairpersons, and a multitude of councilors, yet not a single development project has been initiated. The city's budget remains unutilised, while the residents continue to suffer.
The internal and external roads of the city and the roads of the inner city are in disrepair. Major sewer drains and Nallas have become clogged due to lack of cleaning. Dirty water is overflowing from the sewers in the city, symbolising tears of people as if mourning the loss of their hometown's former glory. While the missing manhole covers seem to symbolise the absence of a comforting hand to help them coping up with their grief.
The entire city including Dholanabad, Hiraabad, Rahim Nagar, Mir Colony, Seed Farm Road, Sir Syed Road, Siyal Colony, Dil Muhammad Colony, Chandni Chowk Road, Scheme No 2, Satellite Town, Samanabad, Rajar Colony, Malhi Colony, Babu Shah Goth, Koori Goth, Muhajir Colony, Suleman Colony, Ume Hani Town, Military Cemetery, Bukhari Town, Station Road, Nat Para, Bhansinghabad, Karim Town, Gharibabad, Compound Wall, Lalchandabad, Khad Plot, Gulshan Colony, Irani Gift Centre, Soomra Para, Mahmoodabad, Unar Chowk, Mir Goth, has turned into ruins.
The local government in Mirpurkhas is suffering due to the incompetence of the chairman, vice chairman and councilors of the government and UCs. The chairman of Diya foundation, Saleem Sheikh, and president, Saif-ur-Rehman Sambhari, said that the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) currently has complete control over the city and the district, but its elected representatives are completely incompetent in improving the sanitation system in the city.
The citizens of Mirpurkhas have appealed to the central leadership of the PPP and the mayor of Mirpurkhas to take necessary steps to improve the sewage and garbage disposal system in the city. The citizens have demanded that the city's crumbling infrastructure, including streets, roads, and sewerage systems, be urgently repaired and restored.
As the people of Mirpurkhas cry out for help, their pleas seem to be falling on deaf ears. The city's decay is a stark reminder of the government's apathy and neglect. Will anyone step forward to rescue Mirpurkhas from the brink of collapse, or will it remain a city forgotten, wonder the left behind citizens.