KARACHI: Amid persistent disinterest and apathy by the lawmakers, the Sindh Assembly on Wednesday continued pre-budget debate for the third consecutive day with as many as 19 more members delivering their speeches.

Only four opposition members and 10 treasury members were present in the house when the deputy speaker began the proceeding with a delay of only five minutes.

Later, the number of lawmakers on the two sides of the aisle rose to over 50 in a 168-member house when four members had already participated in the pre-budget discussion.

The members from the both sides complained of water shortage in their respective areas and demanded smooth water supply. They also showed concern over poor condition of sewerage system and road infrastructure in their respective areas.

19 opposition, treasury members take part in debate

The members belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council came down heavily on the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led provincial government and said that people’s problems had not been solved, while the PPP had been in power for the past 17 years.

PPP member Yasmin Shah said that the steps taken by the provincial government for the betterment of the people were not hidden and added that progress had been made in every sector including health, education, roads and agriculture.

She demanded the establishment of a medical college and cadet college in district.

Taj Muhammad Mallah strongly condemned the new canals projects and said that the people of Badin were worried about every drop of water.

MQM-P’s Arsalan Pervaiz said that the civic and road infrastructure had been ruined in his constituency PS-98 due to the incompetence of the provincial government.

He said that Karachi contributes seventy percent to the country’s economy but the city is ignored in development projects.

The MQM-P member said that the sewage system and roads in Karachi have been destroyed. He demanded immediate rehabilitation of the civic and road infrastructure.

Lauding the achievements of the provincial government, PPP’s Seema Khurram said that institutions like the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and Sindh Institute of urology and Transplantation (SIUT) were working for the benefit of the people in the province.

PTI’s Rehan Bandukda said that water is the most important issue in the entire city, including his constituency.

Sikander Shoro of the PPP said that the extensive works and projects were carried out by the health department. He demanded that a trauma centre should be established in Hyderabad.

MQM-P member Aamir Siddiqui came hard on the provincial government and said that no sewage scheme had been introduced in different areas of his constituency for the past 20 years.

He also lamented the poor standard of education and said that the education sector in Karachi had been destroyed, adding that the schools in the city lacked basic facilities such as washrooms and drinking water. He demanded allocating Rs25 billion for each city town to improve the educational infrastructure and establishing more schools.

The MQM-P member also said that a huge amount of Rs70 billion was stated to be spent on uplift projects in Karachi under CLICK, but there was no visible development in the city.

He said that Sui Southern Gas Company had dug almost every street and road in the city and the Jinnah Town alone had received Rs660 million from the gas utility in the head of road cutting. Mr Siddiqui also advised the provincial government not to launch any road rehabilitation project until the digging work by different utilities is fully completed.

PPP MPA Asif Khan said that there has been acute shortage of water in district Keamari and demanded that the district be provided water from the Hub Canal. He also demanded allocation of funds in the next budget for uplift of three islands in his constituency.

PPP’s Ijaz Ali Shah said that there is shortage of water and poor sanitation in Tando Muhammad Khan, which should be solved.

PTI’s Muhammad Owais said that the motors of the pumping station in Shah Faisal area had not been changed. “The pumping stations in my constituency should be exempted from load-shedding,” he further demanded.

MQM-P’s Rashid Khan from Hyderabad also complained of water shortage and poor condition of roads in his constituency. He demanded schemes in the next budget to address these issues.

Syed Usman, also of MQM-P, demanded that the salaries of lower grade employees be increased by 50 per cent and pensions should be increased by 25 per cent.

He also said that there were only three primary schools in his constituency PS-100 and demanded more schools in the area.

PPP’s Agha Siraj Durrani, Fayyaz Butt, Sikandar Shoro and Taj Muhammad Mallah, provincial ministers Jam Khan Shoro, Zulfiqar Shah, and MQM-P’s Farhan Ansar and PTI’s Wajid Hussain Khan also spoke on the occasion.

Later, the house was adjourned to 11am on Thursday.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2025