Blame game

The recent rains caused huge destruction in both rural and urban Sindh. The city that was most affected by the rain was Karachi – the city of lights. The pictures of flooded roads that went viral on the media highlighted the pathetic and poor performance of both the local and city governments in Sindh in the past four years. It was a shame to see city government officials shifting blames on each other, instead of working to resolve the situation. No one was concerned about the sufferings of the common man. Political parties use such moments for political gains and to blame each other for bad governance. The Sindh government should be asked the following questions: Where have the authorities utilised the funds allocated for repairing the sewerage system? Why is there a shortage of water pumps and machinery that can be used to drain water from the city? Why do we see damaged roads and heaps of garbage lying all over in Karachi?

The same questions should be asked from the MQM and the PTI. We are often quick to judge and criticise our opponents without realising our own weaknesses and faults. Both the parties never miss a chance to criticise other governments, but the recent events have shown that the parties have also shown mismanagement. The PTI failed to handle the dengue outbreak in KP and the teams were called in form Punjab to help the government tackle the situation. Whether it was rains that caused destruction in Karachi or the outbreak of dengue that led to so many deaths in KP, it is always the common man who bears the brunt of mismanagement and bad governance. It is hoped that the government will take remedial measures to tackle the situation of both the dengue- and rain- affected areas in KP and Sindh. Steps should be taken to provide relief to the victims of both the disasters.

Sheeba Ajmal (Peshawar)