KARACHI: Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab has said that he does not believe in the politics of holding daily press conferences based on prejudice and hatred; rather, he believes in responding through work in the megacity.
He said that if other parties serve the public properly, there would be no need for interference. He stated that Rs. 14 billion have been given to the towns, while Rs. 27 billion have been received under OZT, and an additional Rs. 6 billion have been obtained through Click Program.
He expressed these views while inaugurating the construction and rehabilitation work of Muhammad Shah Street in the Old City area and other development projects.
He said earlier, a Union Council used to receive Rs. 500,000, which has now been increased to Rs. 1.2 million. Towns currently have Rs. 700 million under the head of road cutting, which should be utilised for public welfare. He said that this year is a year of development and improvement for Karachi. This year, KMC is spending Rs. 30 billion on improving the megacity’s infrastructure.
He said ending political tug-of-war and politics of prejudice is the need of the hour. The city is one, so its system should also be one, and instead of dividing powers, they should be consolidated. In the past, there were doubts regarding KMC’s powers and resources, but today it has been proven that KMC can work within its available resources. Every single rupee coming into KMC’s account is being spent on public convenience.
He said that work on the old Hub Canal project will be completed by 31st December, which will provide the city with an additional 20 million gallons of water. Along with this, sewage treatment plants are also being made fully functional. He said that they love their sea and marine life and will ensure their protection.
Mayor Karachi said that the federal government would never want the areas under its control to fall within the Mayor’s jurisdiction, but despite that, he is trying to sit with all institutions to resolve issues. He said that Old City Karachi is a historic area that is more than two hundred years old, and the buildings here are more than one hundred and twenty-five years old, but unfortunately, this area was neglected for a long time.
He said that in the past, through “China cutting”, the political and administrative rights of this area were violated, and the Pakistan Peoples Party was also consistently ignored here, whereas public service is real politics, and only those parties live in the hearts of the people who solve public problems.
The Mayor said that in addition to the markets, there are five mosques in the area where worshippers faced severe difficulties during Friday prayers. He said that under the vision of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, a promise was made to this area that its basic issues would be resolved, and to fulfil this promise, Rs. 100 million (one hundred million rupees) were allocated for this area.
He announced that by 15 December, work on another major development project will be started. He said that the road in front of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce has been completed, the road from Civil Hospital to Haqqani Chowk has been prepared, and the parking problem around Bolton Market has also been resolved.
He said that internal streets in Lyari Town are being improved at a cost of Rs. 5 billion. KMC engineers have been given a 100-day target so that development work in the city can be completed on time. The extension of Azeem Pura Road is being carried out to facilitate citizens travelling to Shah Faisal Colony and the airport.
He said that Lea Market will be beautified, while restoration work of Hasan Ali Hothi Market is ongoing and this project will be completed by January. A special ceremony will also be held on the completion of 100 years of this historic building. Restoration work of Empress Market is also ongoing and will be completed by 31 January.
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