KARACHI, May 14: UC-7 Shanti Nagar in Gulshan Town, comprising 12 localities with a population of 1,00,000 people, is being neglected and the UC Nazim , the Town Nazim or any other authority were not paying attention to resolve the increasing problems of sanitation, water supply, sewerage and encroachments.

The roads and streets, which were once wide enough, have shrunken now owing to encroachments and heaps of garbage during the last three years.

The situation has worsened to such an extent that hardly a single vehicle could pass through the road at a time and at some places, pedestrians come across mounds of garbage on roads and streets.

Heaps of filth can be seen everywhere which gives an impression as if this union council had deliberately turned them into dumping sites. Though the entire Shanti Nagar is littered with filth, garbage mounds can be seen at Sindhi Para and along the only playground of this area near Char Meenar mosque. The youths of Shanti Nagar usually play on this ground which is filled with garbage and dung thrown by the owners of nearby cattle-pens.

Sources at UC office told that UC was allocated 52 sweepers since its inception for sanitation in the area. However, only a few of them could be seen on alternate days sweeping certain portions of the roads while rest of the sweepers do work at other places allegedly paying a fixed percentage of their pay to the UC officials.

Moreover, the town administration has also failed to provide garbage vans to remove filth from the area.

Choked sewerage system is another problem that could not be solved even after spending Rs.2.5 million by a lady MPA of PPP. The reason is said to be the substandard work by the contractor who even did not cover manholes. Such open manholes are posing a threat to schoolchildren especially to those of government lower secondary school adopted by the Pakistan Navy. It is surprising that none of the authorities have taken notice of a dangerous manhole located just in the middle of the school gate. The entire street No 15 that passes through this school is flooded with sewage since last one month.

Since contractors have dug up roads for laying sewerage lines without any planning, the roads have become bumpy. It has also caused damage to water supply lines. The residents are complaining that they are getting contaminated water mixed with sewage but the UC Nazim seems to be least bothered.

The encroachers have also defaced this area and it looks that there was none to stop them.

Shopkeepers, hotel-owners and venders have occupied major portions of the roads while a large number of commercial buildings have been constructed grabbing the land on both sides of the roads.

Even internal streets have been encroached in certain cases by certain persons against which several complaints were lodged but there was no action by the town or UC Nazims.-PPI