KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday directed the local government to launch a fresh cleaning drive to keep the city clean.

“I want to see all roads, streets and chowks neat and clean and beautiful,” he said while presiding over a meeting to review ongoing development schemes in the city.

Mr Shah said that the cleaning works in the city were going on properly but “this city needs to be cleaner by removing garbage from the areas where it has been left unattended”.

He said that the streets where gutters were overflowing due to choked or dilapidated system should be overhauled and repaired adding that the new cleanliness drive would include sweeping, lifting of garbage, washing of dirty areas and repair of drainage system.

He directed the local government minister to involve DMCs, water board and the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board in the cleaning work and repair.

The chief minister was told that the solid waste management for Karachi had been devolved from the main authority and now its notification would be issued within the next few days.

Karachi Solid Waste Management Authority notification to be issued soon, CM told

The chief minister directed the local government department to post a seasoned, dedicated and devoted officer as executive director of the Karachi Solid Waste Management Authority.

He said he would start visiting the city at night to witness cleanliness work, ongoing patchwork of damaged roads and ongoing reconstruction of roads and storm-water drains and no negligence would be tolerated.

Uplift schemes

Local Government Minister Nasir Shah told the chief minister that the scheme titled Channelization of outfall drain and other miscellaneous works for safeguarding natural environment, marine life and protection from health hazard at Clifton Beach had been launched and the scheme was completed by 60 per cent.

The chief minister directed the LG department to expedite the work for which the finance department would release more funds.

Reviewing the progress of reconstruction of main track from Ghani Chowrangi to Hub River via GCT College, the chief minister said that it was launched with Rs201.808 million against which Rs25.226m had been released so far.

The LG minister said that 25pc work of the scheme had been completed but more funds were required to expedite the work.

The chief minister directed the finance department to release the funds.

Mehmoodabad nullah remodelling

The chief minister approved remodelling of Mehmoodabad Nullah in the first phase and then the rest of the drains of the city would be developed accordingly.

“We have to resolve this issue for good so that urban floods could be brought to an end in the city,” he said while presiding over a meeting to review the study of Mehmoodabad nullah conducted by NED University here at CM House.

The Vice Chancellor of NED University Dr Sarosh Lodhi briefing the chief minister said that the hydrological regime of the region, Mehmoodabad nullah’s catchment area, spread over 19.03 square kilometres.

He said that most of the artificially constructed waste-water drains were discharging into the Mehmoodabad nullah, including a section of DHA drainage network of 2.96km.

The CM was told that the Mehmoodabad nullah, which started from Korangi Road to fire station, was originally 3.57km in length and its width varies at different places. The existing level of Mehmoodabad drain was too deep at some spots.

The chief minister said the government would construct an 80-metre channel of Mehmoodabad nullah so that flow of water could be ensured in natural gravity.

He asked the NED University team to conduct a parallel study whether a separate drainage channel may be constructed along the drain or construction of a conduit would be enough to drain out sewage in the same drain.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2020