Taking to the streets: MQM continues protest against water shortage

Party leaders in Hyderabad demand funding for development projects

HYDERABAD/ KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) continued its protest movement against water shortage for the third consecutive day on Sunday, this time in the severely water-deprived area of Orangi.

Residents and MQM workers gathered near the Orangi  No. 5 Chowrangi on Sunday evening, where they staged a protest and demanded the water crisis be resolved without further delay. Accompanying the women and children, who held banners saying 'Pani doh Karachi ko', were the constituency's parliamentarians who led the protest demonstration. Addressing the protestors, MPA Saifuddin Khalid demanded that the K-IV project be completed as soon as possible. He said that Orangi Town, which was home to around 2.5 million people, has been facing a severe water crisis for the last three years. "I think this is a conspiracy by the Sindh government that there has been a water shortage in the area for years and nothing has been done to provide relief to the people."



Another leader Yousuf Shahwani said that when they visited the Dhabeji pumping station, the machines were not functional. He said that the water crisis in the city was part of a scheme to deprive the people of the basic necessity.

The MQM, in a press conference last week, had announced that it would take to the streets in Karachi and other parts of Sindh to protest against the water shortage. Party leader Haider Abbas Rizvi had said they would protest to wake up the 'indifferent' provincial government from their slumber. The protests, which kicked off on May 22, will continue every day till June 6.

Demanding finances

Airing grievances about discrimination in the allocation and release of the development budget, the MQM has demanded Rs10 billion for Hyderabad in the upcoming fiscal year. The party warned of a series of protests from June 5 if the provincial government did not concede to their demand. "The urban parts of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah and Sukkur have been completely ignored. The development budget was overwhelmingly allocated for the rural parts of Sindh," said MNA Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, deputy convener of the MQM, at a press conference in Hyderabad on Sunday. "After the 18th Amendment, the revenue flow from the Centre to the provinces increased but the additional revenues were not spent in Sindh."

Responding to a query, MPA Zubair Ahmed said they had submitted budgetary proposals for their respective constituencies to the Sindh government. "Last year, the government approved our schemes but not a single penny was released for our projects."

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