Altaf Hussain lauds CDGK’s efforts to cope with rains

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain Wednesday paid tribute to the City Nazim Karachi and the City District Government for taking effective steps for coping with the rain related challenges.

The Haq Parast leadership of City Government took appropriate measures for improvement of the storm water drains and overall sewerage system before the expected rains. This helped avert a crisis like situation faced by the city in the last year’s rains, he added.

CITY NAZIM EXPRESS SATISFACTION OVER EFFECTIVE RAIN ARRANGEMENTS.

Nazim Karachi Syed Mustafa Kamal has said that if compared to previous years the situation in Karachi was much better this year even after a record 66 millimeter rain. The main roads were in past used to disturb most due to the accumulation of rain water for even 20days which resulted in traffic gridlock for many hours, however, this year municipal workers did not required any pumps or machines to drain out water from main roads and the citizens found the city clean in the morning after heavy showers.
After a detailed visit to various areas of the city on Wednesday the City Nazim said that the water was drained out through the storm water drains installed at all the main roads, flyovers, bridges and underpasses constructed during the last two and half year.
He said that “although concerned departments had already finalized all arrangements regarding rains and the preparations were completed much earlier the installation of storm water drainage system played key role in dealing with the situation while the command and control centre was also proved useful where during and after rain situation was monitored in 38km area through video cameras and teams were dispatched immediately to clear traffic jam and rain.
Nazim Karachi said that all the concerned officers and workers including DCO Karachi, MD. KWSB, EDO Municipal Services were remained on roads till 6 am in the morning and the city has been made clean overnight.
He said that all credit for this should go to team work which has made this possible.
He further said that the power failure was responsible for the traffic jam at some of the roads and the situation was controlled immediately with the help of community policing which helped traffic police maintain traffic flow.

300 people on Baitullah Mehsud’s hit list

* List includes PPP, MQM and ANP leadership

The intelligence and law enforcement agencies have been put on high alert based on the news that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud has prepared a hit list of around 300 high-profile figures, including political leaders.

“Of course this type of information is received from time to time,” said CID Chief DIG Saud Mirza, adding that the country was still under threat. “We are in coordination with all the intelligence agencies.” Source close to an intelligence agency said that it was assumed that the leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Awami National Party (ANP), anti-Taliban Shia, Sunni clerics, personnel from the intelligence and law enforcement agencies, officials from the interior and provincial ministries and journalists could be targeted by the Pakistani Taliban. Their families were also believed to be at risk.

The MQM leadership was also informed by the LEAs when Jundullah members were arrested on charges of attacking the then corps commander of Karachi Lt Gen Ahsan Hayat. During interrogations, these men confessed that they targeted the party’s leadership as its members were perceived as ‘American agents’.

FAITH

Autumn the divorce between trees and leaves,

Beginning of the winter, as we believe.

Leaves falling like drops of rain,

Trying to fly but in vain.

Wandering on the roofs, alleys and streets,

Crushing under the walking feet.

The trees feed the leaves, making them strong.

Keeping them green and fresh, all along.

When a leaf leaves the tree.

It becomes lifeless, direction-less and fall free.

I see these falling leaves and think,

All the things of nature have a link.

A person who loose his faith is just like a falling leaf,

Having no direction, no purpose of life and no belief,

Falling from the tree of faith, loosing life's flame,

Wandering on the streets of life without any aim.

Faith is the strength and essence of life.

Keep your faith alive in peace and strife.

Muttahida Quami Movement Vehemently Denounces The Murder Of MQM Worker In Karachi

The Central Organizing commitee of Muttahida Quami Movement have intensely deprecated the cold blooded murder of MQM worker Sohail Sami.Sohail Sami, 25, was a worker of MQM Malir Sector, Unit 97. The office bearers of MQM vehemently denounced the incidence occurred in Malir, Karachi in which, it is apprehended, that armed terrorists abducted Sohail Sami and then shot him to death with several rounds of fires. It is worth mentioning that two months ago, in the same vicinity, another worker of MQM Mohammad Azim was put to death by armed terrorists.The members of MQM Central Organizing Committee said that the murders of MQM workers and harassment to MQM workers is a part of strategic planning of non-democratic forces who, on one hand are encouraging and facilitating Talibanization in Karachi, and on the other hand, are creating unrest in the city of most peace-loving people of the country. They said that the workers and supporters of MQM are peace loving people and don’t want to take the law in their hand. However, they reiterated, if these elements will not refrain from attacking pro-democratic MQM workers, the workers and supporters of MQM will find no other way than to defend themselves in a better way. The office bearers of MQM demanded of the highest ranks in the law enforcing authorities to probe into the incidence and the culprits should be brought to justice instantly.

POLITICKING AGAINST PEOPLE

Ever since the PPP government came in power it is trying its best to undermine the MQM-led city government in Karachi. It cannot reconcile to the fact that Karachi is the power base of its main rival in Sindh. It knows that the real power of the political parties is the work it gets done for the people which votes them to power.

It is working on the premise that if you keep your opponent parties in need for money, restrict their ability to work and keep them busy dealing with allegations of misuse of power and financial irregularities you lessen their energies and frustrate them. The reconstruction work suffers and then you blame your opponents for not getting their work done.

It seems that the city government is surrounded by vicious adversaries, the Sindh Local Government Minister on one side, the CM on the other, the National Reconstruction Bureau and the Federal Government Local Bodies Ministry on the other two. Instead of addressing to the pressing economic issues of the people the PPP-led government is chipping on whatever good the local government has done for the people of Karachi.

The CDGK has done a marvel by transforming the city’s infrastructure in a short period of time. Like any other organisation, its work cannot be without a blemish but it is learning. The people have seen a change in the city and have benefited from it. For the first time people have been given a voice that is also being heard. People have access to its chosen leaders and there is no lord peon to stop his entry to the office of the union council (UC) and Nazim. The UC leaders are the residents of the area they represent and have a stake in getting the work of the area done. With a strongly willed Nazim, whose integrity even the opposition is willing to accept, Karachi is in line to become a major city of Asia.

This is not going down well with the new anti-people PPP, which is hell bent in minting a piece of the pie and making money from whatever is the budget allocation for Karachi. If they were wiser they could have used the ‘Karachi Experience’ to bring about the same infrastructural changes in the rest of Sindh.

But it is not about the “people”. It is about “politics”. In the end the rich will become rich and the poor will become poorer.

Second Level Of Nagan Flyover Opened in Karachi

The second level of the Nagan Chowrangi flyover was opened for vehicular traffic late on Saturday night.

City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal performed the opening ceremony.

Seemingly undeterred by the withholding of the promised funds by the federal and provincial governments, the city nazim announced that the city government would curtail its non-development expenditures to finance and complete the ongoing development projects in the city.

Talking to newsmen after the inauguration, he said that the Nagan Chowrangi and Gulshan-i-Iqbal flyovers were actually federally-funded projects but owing to the withholding of funds, the city government spent Rs170 million from its own resources to complete the project.

He said that so far the city government spent Rs400 million on various development projects under bridge financing.

Defending his decision to continue the work on various projects without getting the promised funds, the nazim said that since the cost of raw material was increasing with each passing day, there was a possibility that if the city government kept waiting for the promised grants, the overall costs of the projects would increase manifold.

“Therefore, despite limited resources, we do not want to further delay the ongoing projects,” the nazim said.

Mr Kamal maintained that the city government was facing a shortfall of around Rs3 billion but was trying to meet the same by curtailing various non-development expenditures including fuel, medical etc.

However, he urged the federal and provincial authorities to release the withheld funds to the city government so that it could complete the ongoing development projects in the city.

The nazim said that the signal-free corridor II comprising five flyovers – three on Rashid Minhas Road, one at Sohrab Goth and the Nagan Chowrangi flyover – would be formally inaugurated on Independence Day.

He said that that the Nagan Chowrangi flyover was an important part of the signal-free corridor II, which linked Sharea Faisal to Surjani Town and was being completed at an estimated cost of Rs650 million.

Level one of the Nagan Chowrangi flyover was recently opened for vehicular traffic.

Currently, the city government is constructing one more loop of the flyover, which will cover Anda Mor and is scheduled to be completed by August 14.

Mr Kamal congratulated the people of Karachi on the opening of the Nagan Chowrangi flyover and observed that due to effective arrangements, traffic was not disturbed during the construction work of the flyover.

He said that the city government would work on the beautification of the entire area after the completion of work on adjacent roads and a storm-water drain.