Karachiites live in severe crisis: Mayor Karachi

KARACHI: Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar on Monday said that the people of Karachi were living in severe crisis and he had made functional all the departments under KMC control during last four years.

He said while addressing a presser here at Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s building, said a statement.

Deputy Mayor Arshad Hassan, Parliamentary Leader in City Council Aslam Afridi, Chairmen of City Council’s different committees and KMC’s departments were also present on the occasion.

Briefing about the uplift works carried out by the KMC during his tenure from 2016 to 2020, Waseem Akhtar said that it was right of Karachiites to know the details of resources of the department.

He said “We took over the charge in severe crises with majority of the departments unfunctional but we didn’t give and kept struggling for the betterment of the city. We had made most of the departments functional to facilitate the citizens,” he added.

“I had been sending schemes proposals of Karachi to Sindh government to include the same in provincial ADP but none was incorporated, is not it Karachi enmity,” he asked.

Giving details of the funds KMC got for drains cleanliness, the Mayor said that he got only Rs. 500 million once and that too on directives of the Supreme Court.

Drains of Karachi cannot be cleaned until there was proper garbage lifting system.

“Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah himself admitted that the KMC was not empowered,” said Akhtar.

He said that everybody knows that local bodies were deliberately made powerless.

"Not only in Karachi but local bodies across the province cannot perform their duties,” he added.

Waseem Akhtar said that there was a shortfall of Rs 6 billion in the head of Annual Development Programmed by the provincial government.