Hyderabad mayor promises jobs for heirs of Pretabad cylinder blast victims

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Mayor Kashif Shoro on Tuesday presided over the fourth general session of the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) at the Mumtaz Mirza Auditorium.

Of the 241 members of the corporation , 180 attend the session. Among the notable absentees were Deputy Mayor Saghir Qureshi and Qasimabad Town Chairman Umeer Moola Bakhsh Chandio.

According to the sources, the deputy mayor has developed differences with the mayor for not consulting him regarding development funds. Two members who attended the session told The News that the fourth session of the corporation was held after six months, but the deputy mayor, two town chairmen and 61 UC chairmen did not attend it.

Hyderabad Pakistan Peoples Party Information Secretary Ahsan Abro wrote a message on social media asking the deputy mayor should to tell where he had used the development funds received for the Hyderabad PPP for eight years.

At the beginning of the meeting, Hyderabad Mayor Kashif Shoro briefed the members on his visit to the United States. During the session, the corporation members approved the proceedings of the previous general session held on July 31, 2024.

The HMC also approved awarding contract to the contractor who made the successful bid of Rs5 million for the charged parking in the city and Latifabad areas during 2024-25. HMC member Qazi Muhammad Ilyas, and fellow members asked for discussing removal of waste bins from main roads, schools and hospitals. Resolutions related to completion of incomplete sewerage work in UC 4 Aliabad Colony was unanimously approved.

Some members of the PTI asked questions on various items included in the agenda and appreciated the mayor’s replies. On a complaint of council members Babu Ilyas and Azhar Sheikh regarding the use of substandard materials in the development works, encroachments and illegal sale of meat at various places, the mayor announced the formation of a committee consisting of two members each from the PPP and PTI and directed the committee to present a report to him after inspecting the ongoing development works.

Shoro said that any member who had any objection regarding the development work should contact the members of the committee. He added that not only a new sewerage line was being laid from Guddu Chowk, Auto Bhan Road, to the Darya Khan Pumping Station, but reconstruction of the road was also in progress.

He said the Rani Bagh would be reconstructed under public-private partnership and work would start soon. He maintained that the HMC was carrying out work in every area without discrimination.

A member reminded the mayor about a resolution regarding jobs for the heirs of the Pretabad cylinder blast tragedy, to which Shoro said continuous communication was going on with the Sindh government in this regard.

He said that if the Sindh government was not able to provide jobs, the HMC would do so. Guddu Marri, a member of the PPP, criticised HDA and WASA officers and said that there was no drinking water in the area and sewerage was spilled on roads, but the WASA managing director was not ready to address the issue. To this, Shoro remarked that water supply and drainage was a long-standing problem, and in order to improve it, WASA would be given the status of a corporation.