For a better Karachi: Cleanliness drive begins as civic bodies squabble
Sharae Faisal’s irregular billboards will be removed under the campaign.
Photo of cleaners sweeping a street. PHOTO: REUTERS
KARACHI:
Sharae Faisal is one of the busiest roads of the city and is almost always mentioned when promises to restore the beauty of the city are made. And once again, it was at the fore.
At the opening ceremony of the cleanliness drive at the Frere Hall on Sunday, government officials, including Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, Karachi commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) administrator Rauf Akhtar Farooqui, promised citizens that the city’s former beauty will be restored at all costs.
The ceremony was organised by the KMC to start the Shahrae Faisal cleaning campaign, which is in its first phase. The drive will then move on to other parts of the city.
In his speech, chief guest Ibad promised to plant 300,000 saplings across the city. Pointing towards the jurisdiction issues that have led to squabbles between different civic agencies, the governor said that civic agencies will have to cooperate with each other if they are to achieve their goal.
The civic bodies that he was referring to are the KMC, district municipal corporations, the Clifton Cantonment Board, the Faisal Cantonment Board, the Malir Cantonment Board, the Karachi Port Trust and the Airport residential area.
KMC administrator Rauf Akhtar Farooqui also addressed the issue during his speech and said that the KMC is not responsible for cleaning the entire city as most of its areas fall under other civic bodies. “These institutions are collecting tax from their jurisdictions and they are the ones who are responsible for the maintenance of these areas,” he informed the audience.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2014.
Sharae Faisal is one of the busiest roads of the city and is almost always mentioned when promises to restore the beauty of the city are made. And once again, it was at the fore.
At the opening ceremony of the cleanliness drive at the Frere Hall on Sunday, government officials, including Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, Karachi commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) administrator Rauf Akhtar Farooqui, promised citizens that the city’s former beauty will be restored at all costs.
The ceremony was organised by the KMC to start the Shahrae Faisal cleaning campaign, which is in its first phase. The drive will then move on to other parts of the city.
In his speech, chief guest Ibad promised to plant 300,000 saplings across the city. Pointing towards the jurisdiction issues that have led to squabbles between different civic agencies, the governor said that civic agencies will have to cooperate with each other if they are to achieve their goal.
The civic bodies that he was referring to are the KMC, district municipal corporations, the Clifton Cantonment Board, the Faisal Cantonment Board, the Malir Cantonment Board, the Karachi Port Trust and the Airport residential area.
KMC administrator Rauf Akhtar Farooqui also addressed the issue during his speech and said that the KMC is not responsible for cleaning the entire city as most of its areas fall under other civic bodies. “These institutions are collecting tax from their jurisdictions and they are the ones who are responsible for the maintenance of these areas,” he informed the audience.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2014.