Cleaning of nullahs: Unpaid workers suspend anti-encroachment drive

DMCs of Saddar, Lyari towns have not been paid salaries for two months, says official.

KARACHI:

Work on anti-encroachment and cleanliness campaign of main nullahs that started four days back has come to a halt after workers of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) refused to work because of the delay in their salaries, The Express Tribune has learnt.

“After the Federal B Area incident in which a car plunged into a nullah, the authorities have become serious about removing encroachments alongside nullahs and ensure cleanliness of the same, but unfortunately, the machinery is not in a proper condition” said KMC CBA union president Zulfiqar Shah.

Most of the work is being done manually, while the people residing alongside the nullah are strongly reacting against the drive, he added.

“The civic body has not paid salaries to the district municipal corporations (DMCs) of Saddar and Lyari towns for two months, while the rest of towns are not paid for one month,” Shah said. “This is hampering the drive.”

The campaign was initiated four days ago, but during a survey of different nullahs, including Nehar-e-Khyam, Glass Tower, Mehmoodabad nullah, Manzoor Colony nullah, Chakor nullah, Gujjar nullah and Golden Town nullah, it emerged that the authorities could not even initiate manual work, according to reports.

The director-general of KMC technical services, Niaz Ahmed Soomro, while talking to The Express Tribune said that at some points of Gujjar nullah and Lyair river cleaning was not possible due to extensive encroachments. “Some parts of Gujjar nullah and Lyari river are so extensively encroached that workers cannot go inside and clean it,” he said.

The KMC’s municipal service department was utilising its machinery and workers to clean nullahs, but the officials were facing hindrance in different areas where the people had set up encroachments, he informed

Last Wednesday, KMC Administrator Saqib Soomoro presided over a meeting with officers of municipal services and engineering department to review hurdles in the flow of water at all big nullahs and directed them to submit a comprehensive report about it.

The cleaning of storm water drains will continue on a regular basis and garbage will be taken out of storm water drains and shifted to landfill sites as soon as possible, Soomro was informed during the meeting.

Steps for purchasing heavy pumps were being taken for improving the drainage of water, the administrator was further informed.

Soomro said the citizens were facing difficulties because of these encroachments, therefore, the KMC in collaboration with the police department and DMCs would carry out the drive to make Karachi an encroachment-free city.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 1^st, 2013.