Cantonment residents head out to vote today

Biggest challenge facing CBC candidates is water shortage.

KARACHI:

Residents of cantonment areas in Karachi are ready to vote for the first time in 17 years, their eyes are on the candidates who can help resolves the area’s civic issues.

The local government elections in the cantonment areas have provided hope to the residents that they may have a say, through their elected representatives, in how the cantonment boards run their affairs. These cantonment boards also have slum areas where water and sanitation are one of the major concerns.

In case of Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC), overcoming the growing water crisis will be the first challenge for those who come into power, said a DHA resident, Nasir Mehmood. “For a long time, the residents of Clifton and Defence have been forced to pay extra money to get water,” he complained.

Apart from the water crisis, Mehmood felt that the increasing sense of insecurity is another monster raising its head. Both the Defence Housing Authority and the CBC have failed to provide foolproof security to their residents,” he said. “The elected councillors should also take this important issue into consideration.”

Election campaign

The election campaign for the candidates saw some activity is the last week as most candidates are relying on social media to gather support. “We are using WhatsApp, Twitter and text messages to push our election campaign across the electoral constituencies,” said Aziz Shurwardy, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate who is contesting from Ward No. 9 of the Clifton cantonment.

The PTI candidate complained, however, of victimisation by the administration. “Under the code of conduct for the polls, every contestant can hold meetings and display banners,” he pointed out. “But it has been noticed that the DHA staff removes our banners during the night.” The DHA officials denied, however, these claims.

In fact, the CBC authorities said they are helping the candidates as much as possible. “On Monday, a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate held a corner meeting in Defence Phase IV,” said Amir Arab, a CBC spokesperson. “We are not asking anyone to stop the election activities.”

Arab added that they are trying to avoid any untoward situation from taking place within the cantonment areas. He appreciated that the candidates were following the code of conduct very strictly so far.

For his part, Suharwardy admitted that they have not been very active in their campaign. “The residents of cantonment areas are more mature than those living outside,” he said, hoping that the educated voters in his constituency will respond positively to his social media campaign.

His rival for the same seat, Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Kashif Ahmed chose to spoke about his plans for the area. “People buy an apartment for Rs20 million but don’t have access to water,” he pointed out. “They are forced to rely on water tankers.”

Another problem he felt in the constituency is security and the large number of people roaming around openly with weapons. “I don’t know why these ‘feudals’ are fond of exhibiting their wealth by showing their weapons from inside their Vigo jeeps,” he said. “I think they have threats from the IS or the Taliban which is why their plainclothes guards openly threaten ordinary residents.”

Ahmed also saw a serious parking problem in the commercial areas of DHA and Clifton. “We will regulate car parking in areas with narrow lanes,” he said, adding that sometimes ambulances are stuck in such traffic jams.



The Pakistan Peoples Party candidate in CBC’s Ward No. 8, Muhammad Ashfaq Memon, also agreed that water and security are the biggest problem in the area. In the slum areas, the residents have been deprived of water for the last 40 days as the last sewage lines were laid during the tenure of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the early 1970s, he said.

As for security, he said he will not stop people from keeping personal guards. “But we will not let them roam around with plainclothes guards displaying arms openly.”

Meanwhile in Karachi Cantt, which includes most parts of Saddar, residents have expectation of good governance from their candidates. “In the last 17 years, there had been no voice of elected representatives in the cantonments,” said Essar, a candidate for Ward No. 3 in Karachi Cantt. The slums that fall under the cantonment boards are being neglected, he pointed out.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2015.