Baqar asks federal govt to resume Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway work

Hyderabad: Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar has urged the federal government to start work on the Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway (M-6) at least on those portions where land acquisition issues had been resolved.

“I remember that the construction of the M-6 was stopped when the scandal of land acquisition was unearthed but now when the land acquisition process has been completed by the committee under the commissioner through a joint digital survey, the work should be resumed,” he remarked as he presiding over a meeting of the Hyderabad division administration at the office of the Jamshoro deputy commissioner in Sehwan on Saturday.

The meeting was attended by Irrigation Minister Ishwarl Lal, Chief Secretary Dr Fakhre Alam, Hyderabad Commissioner Khalid Hyder Shah, Irrigation Secretary Niaz Abbasi, Works Secretary Nawaz Sohoo, Hyderabad DIG Tariq Dharejo and other officials. The Hyderabad commissioner briefed the meeting on the progress in the under-construction Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway, saying that its length was 396 kilometres, 105km of which lied in the Hyderabad division.

He added that the total land required for the project in the Hyderabad division was 2,428 acres.

The CM was told that the land acquisition process of M-9 was stopped temporarily due to embezzlement of funds, and the process started afresh after key rectifications. The meeting was told that a committee under the commissioner had completed joint surveys and fresh demarcations.

The Hyderabad commissioner said that only a portion in Matiari was yet to be completed. To this, the CM directed the chief secretary to talk to the federal government and get the suspended work resumed on the M-6.

Justice (retd) Baqar directed the divisional administration to focus on facilitating general elections and strengthening the drive against electricity theft.

He also issued directives for price control operations against hoarders and illegal profiteers.

The CM directed the divisional administration to ensure smooth completion of all the projects involving land acquisition and resolving traffic congestion and parking problems in urban centres.

He also asked the administration to support routine immunisation programmes for polio eradication as per the National Emergency Action Plan.

Hyderabad DIG Tariq Dharejo briefing the CM on the law and order situation. He said there were nine districts in his range, which had 42 police subdivisions and 156 police stations. The total strength of the police force in the Hyderabad Range was 18,529, including 10 SSPs, he said.

About registered crimes, the DIG told the CM that 2,761 cases of crime against persons had been registered so far in 2023, in which 1,883 accused had been challaned with 33 of them convicted. A total of 331 suspects in those cases had been acquitted, and 1,482 cases were under trial, the meeting was told.

The CM was told that during 2023, 1,908 cases of crime against property had been registered in the Hyderabad range, of which 1,124 had been challaned. The courts convicted 21 suspects and acquitted 186 others in those cases and a total of 916 cases were still under trial.

Justice (retd) Baqar directed the police to form a comprehensive strategy to eliminate the menace of gutka and mainpuri in the entire Hyderabad division.

The DIG said he had shown zero tolerance for drug trafficking and 2,701 cases had been registered in 2023 under the law prohibiting gutka and mainpuri, and 3,924 suspects arrested.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Sindh Peoples Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHFA), Khalid Shaikh, said the heavy rains of 2022 had submerged 70 per cent of the province, after which the government declared 24 of the districts as calamity-hit areas A total of 12.36 million people were affected, and 2.1 million houses were damaged or destroyed during the floods, he said, adding that 50 per cent of the destroyed houses were located on state land.

Shaikh informed the meeting that the Sindh government had decided to grant lease of the houses to the people living on state land.

Talking about Jamshoro district, he said 60,609 houses were damaged there, of which 30,319 were in Sehwan.

The SPHFA CEO said 596,793 households with women had been verified for reconstruction of houses in Sindh. Of those women, 121,817 were widows, 34,382 unaccompanied women elders, 4,250 women with disabled husbands, and 3,020 divorced/abandoned/unmarried elder women who were dependent on others.

Justice (retd) Baqar visited a locality where 60 houses were under construction. He also handed over the documents of houses to women in a ceremony organised at the Sehwan Fort.

The caretaker CM also paid a surprise visit to the rural health centre (RHC) and talked to patients. He expressed dissatisfaction at the shortage of life-saving medicine, and unavailability of anti-snake serum and anti-rabid dog vaccines. He observed that the RHC was covering a population of 30,000 people, but its X-ray machine was out of order and the condition of the facility was pathetic. He was told that the RHC was running under the public-private health initiative. He directed the chief secretary to talk to its administration to get the issues resolved.

Justice (retd) Baqar inspected a 3.2km under-construction road from Ghulam Nabi Chhuto village to Hadi Bux Chhuto Village where Works Secretary Nawaz Sohoo briefed him about the pace and quality of work. He also inspected a 2.4km road connecting Wali Gaincho village to the main highway.

The CM was satisfied with the affairs of Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical Sciences as he paid a visit there. He inspected its emergency, ICU, ventilators, and four operation theatres, and directed the director of the institute, Dr Moinuddin Siddiqui, to keep it up.

Earlier, the CM went to the shrine of Lal Shabaz Qalandar in Sehwan where he laid a wreath on the Sufi saint’s grave and offered fateha for him.