Opposition parties slam Sindh govt over rain mess

Opposition parties have lashed out against the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Sindh government for failing to manage the situation in Karachi after the heavy monsoon rains during Eidul Azha that resulted in inundated roads, a severed sewerage system, the failure of the power supply system and tormented residents.

‘No advance plan’

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leaders lambasted the provincial government for making inadequate arrangements that led to the monsoon rains submerging several parts of the city.

“No one from the Sindh government or the Karachi administration was seen on the streets,” said Waseem Akhtar, an MQM-P central leader and former city mayor, while addressing a news conference at the party office.

“The entire city administration and all the machinery are under the control of the provincial government. Why didn’t you plan in advance despite the predictions of heavy rains?” Former deputy mayor Arshad Hasan, former District East chairman Moeed Anwar, former District Korangi chairman Nayyar Raza and other leaders of the party were also present on the occasion.

“Where are the officials of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board? Why had the storm water drains of the city not been cleaned a month earlier?” The MQM-P leader said that all the provincial government officials have gone to interior Sindh to celebrate Eidul Azha with their families. “This is what happens when people are hired on fake domiciles and local residents are denied jobs.”

He said Karachi is being run through deputy commissioners, and complained that the provincial government has not devolved powers to the local bodies, pointing out that the situation would have been different if the power had been devolved.

“Nothing has been done for Karachi despite record tax collection from the city. People have suffered through damage to their properties, yet others have lost their lives.” Akhtar said the people of Karachi are asking why their tax money is not spent on them. “Karachi already did not have an infrastructure, and what little the city had was destroyed in the recent rains.”

Addressing the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the PPP leadership, he said their respective governments in the Centre and Sindh are enjoying on the money of Karachi’s taxpayers, but now that the taxpayers are in trouble and need help, no one is here to address their problems.

“The MQM-P demands that the federal and provincial governments take our party’s words seriously. There will be no more waiting now; we will be forced to make our own decision.”

‘Mismanagement’

Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman also lambasted the provincial government over its failure to manage the situation in Karachi, saying that the post-rains situation in the city speaks volumes about incapability, mismanagement and corruption.

“Roads in all the notable areas of Karachi were submerged by rainwater even after the passage of 24 hours, showing the level of seriousness and commitment by the government towards the city and its people,” said Rehman while addressing a news conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq.

He also highlighted that the government had allocated Rs1.5 billion for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Rs1.2 billion was allocated for cleaning storm water drains, and thousands of billions of rupees had already been declared as spent on development in Sindh over the past 14 years.

Rehman said that Rs660 million was dedicated for managing the situation during monsoon rains. “Where did you spend the money?” he asked the PPP-backed Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab.

The JI leader said the PPP had claimed that II Chundrigar Road was repaired in a manner that it would immediately drain out rainwater, but the road still appeared to be submerged 24 hours after the rain. “Similar claims were made about Sharea Faisal, but the reality is quite contrary.”

He demanded that the government declare an emergency in the rain-affected areas of the city, and immediately launch a rescue and relief operation instead of continuously offering lip service to the affected people.

He claimed that 70 per cent of the officials recruited by the PPP government in various departments and deployed in Karachi were enjoying leave in their native areas while the city was facing urban floods and heavy rains. He reiterated his demand to remove Wahab from the office of the administrator over his failure to deliver in Karachi, and to ensure free and fair elections.

The JI leader also lambasted the PPP’s alleged efforts in connection with biased returning officers to rig the local government polls. “Karachi’s residents will not tolerate any attempt to rig the elections.”

‘Narrow-mindedness’

Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal claimed that in order to run the current coalition government, the prime minister, the army chief, the chief justice and all state institutions have given the PPP free hand in Sindh and left the people at the mercy of the province’s ruling party.

“Pakistan is sitting on a branch [Karachi], and everyone is hell-bent on cutting that same branch,” said Kamal while addressing a news conference at the Pakistan House. “The world has come to realise that the economic development of the country is impossible without the development of its cities, but those who run Pakistan are destroying the economic hub, Karachi, with their narrow-mindedness and prejudice.”

He said Karachi is a city that contributes over 60 per cent of revenue to the national exchequer. “This is the gateway not only to Pakistan but also to the whole of Asia. Since the 18th amendment, Sindh’s revenue has increased 800 times.”

He also said Sindh’s budget for the financial year 2021-22 shows a total revenue of Rs1.4 trillion, adding that Karachi’s share should be Rs300 billion. “But the city was given only Rs38 billion, and that too fell prey to bribery and corruption.”

The former city mayor said that the PPP’s formula of development means that “when there is more money there is more corruption, and more money to send abroad”. The PSP leader claimed that the only feasible and permanent solution to save and run Pakistan lies in the three constitutional amendments already presented by his party.

“The departments of the local government should be incorporated in the constitution in the same way that the details of the powers of the prime minister and the chief ministers are written.”

Like the National Finance Commission Award, the Provincial Finance Commission Award should be included in the constitution, and the national and provincial assemblies should not be able to come into being unless there are elected local governments in the country, he said. Commenting on the Supreme Court’s order to the PPP to make a local government law, Kamal said that this decision is like “a thief being asked to formulate a law so that he can’t rob any more”.