HYDERABAD, Sept 25: The Qasimabad Action Committee has said that even 20 days after the city was hit by torrential rains, several areas in Qasimabad taluka are still submerged.

The areas, they said, are Ali Nagar, Goth Qasim Shoro, Haji Shoro, Hur Camp, Waqar Town and Qasim Town.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Monday, action committee leaders Haji Rasool Bux Shaikh, Nisar Halepoto and Ali Nawaz Kutrio said that about 5,000 rain-affected people, who had been displaced due to inundation of their homes, were living in the open.

They said that the HDA’s sewerage system had totally collapsed and relief fund amounting to tens of millions of rupees were available with the district nazim but no relief had been given to affected people.

They said that when the people in submerged localities and Latifabad protested, they were subjected to violence and false cases were registered against them.

The leaders of the action committee demanded that cases should be withdrawn.

They said that Sindhi officers were being discriminated against in Hyderabad and none of them was being tolerated at any important post.

They said that this had created a sense of deprivation among the Sindhis.

They demanded that the Nadra office should immediately be brought back to the State Life Building and another office should be set up in Qasimabad.

They demanded that Hyderabad rural taluka should be declared calamity affected.

They appealed to all conscientious people of Hyderabad to perform their due role in promoting sense of brotherhood and peace in the city.

NAZIM: District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil on Sunday directed Wasa and other officials of the district government to install heavy machines, diesel trolleys and transformers to drain out rainwater from low-lying areas of Shoro Goth in Qasimabad taluka.

He issued the instructions during his visit to Shoro Goth and Lakho Thakur Goth.

He directed that the affected people he provided relief on priority basis.

Qasimabad Taluka Nazim Noor Mohammad Shoro, DCO Mohammad Hussain Syed, EDO (revenue) Abdul Sattar Jatoo, HDA director-general Tahir Ahmed, Wasa managing-director Kafeel Ahmed and Hesco officials were also present on the occasion.

On Monday, the district nazim distributed food items among rain-affected people of Sehrish Nagar, taluka Qasimabad.

The officials of district government and nazim UC-4 Latifabad, Ghulam Rasool Samoo were also present on the occasion.

He said that rainwater had been drained out from Sehrish Nagar but the district government would continue to distribute relief goods for some time till the poor people were able to earn their own living.

He said that the district government had ordered survey of losses due to rains and added that a comprehensive report will be submitted to Sindh government to compensate the people for the losses.

TMA: A spokesman of taluka municipal administration city has said that under orders of the Sindh High Court, encroachments on 20-feet wide road in Nusrat Colony were removed in presence of a magistrate.

In a statement issued here on Monday, the spokesman said that the encroachers had raised strong resistance but the TMA implemented the orders of the court without any discrimination.

He said that print and electronic media were giving the issue a political and ethnic turn which was a complete travesty of facts.

He said that the matter was pending in the high court since 2005 and the court had issued first orders on October 5, 2005, under which encroachments were removed.