• Promises to complete most development projects in next 100 days
• Vows to make Karachi clean and green
• Says KMC will soon restart its transport operation

KARACHI: Extending an olive branch to opposition parties, Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Tuesday asked them to lend the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) a helping hand for the improvement and development of the country’s commercial hub.

Speaking at his maiden press conference at the Frere Hall lawns, he urged the need for “collective thinking” to improve the civic infrastructure of the city and said that the election phase of the local government institutions was now over.

Without naming any party, he said every side needed to work together beyond politics in the interest of the city. “It should be highlighted collectively that this city is mine and yours too,” he said.

Mentioning several uplift projects of the provincial government and the KMC across the city, Barrister Wahab said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) intended to work with full resources for the development of the city.

“We will make the governance better and transparent,” he said, adding that people would witness the work being done in the city without any discrimination.

Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad, PPP leader Najmi Alam, Qadir Patel and Karamullah Waqasi were also present on the occasion.

The mayor said that he and Salman Murad would not wait for six months to get elected from a union committee. “In the next 10 days, according to the legal procedure, I and the deputy mayor will contest the election from one of the union committees of the city,” he added.

He said that cleaning of the city’s drains was started 10 days ago as per his orders and the work would be done speedily before the advent of the monsoon season.

Barrister Wahab, who is also the chief minister’s law adviser and provincial government’s spokesman, said that the KMC faced shortage of funds and the city municipality would work together with the provincial government to stand on its feet.

He said that most of the ongoing uplift projects in the city would be completed in the next 100 days.

The mayor said that the city was facing water shortage for which various projects were being implemented. The sewerage system in the city was being improved so that the roads and paths were safe from sewage overflow,“ he added.

Barrister Wahab recalled that in the past the KMC used to operate its buses on its routes in Karachi and said that the city municipality would soon restart its transport operation, inviting private sector to come ahead to help resolve the transport issues in the city.

He said that there was also a shortage of graveyards in the city and the KMC had already acquired 200 acres in Keamari for that purpose.

“I have already ordered for the construction of the boundary wall around the graveyard land,” he said, adding that another model cemetery would be established in district Malir. He said that the infrastructure would also be improved in the rural areas and goths of Karachi.

Earlier, he visited the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah to pay his respect.

Meanwhile, presiding over a meeting of KMC’s departmental heads, the mayor said that Karachi would be made a clean and green city after removing wall-chalking and banning plastic bags in the city by ensuring strict implementation of laws.

He said that in order to improve the basic infrastructure of the city, maintenance of roads and provision of street lights would be done on a priority basis.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2023