KARACHI: Unmoved by criticism from political parties and other segments of society over poor governance and mismanagement of institutions which aggravated the punishing heatwave in Karachi, the PPP has put the onus on the centre for the that deepened the power crisis and left people dying in the heat.

It was the first time since the heatwave killed more than 1,000 people in Karachi that the PPP chairman summoned Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah to the Bilawal House and inquired about the performance of his government during the recent crisis.

Although headlines hit the television channels that the PPP chairman, taking serious notice of poor governance, had asked the chief minister to improve his performance, a statement issued by the Bilawal House suggested the two leaders were convinced that the provincial government had nothing to do with the crisis.

“The chief minister briefed Bilawal Bhutto Zardari about severe heatwave and loadshedding across the province, which caused deaths of around 1,000 people in Karachi and other parts of the province,” the statement said.

“Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) had established 40 relief camps and heatstroke centres to provide instant relief to those affected. Similar camps have also been established by the PPP, many other political parties, NGOs and others.”

The only directive from the PPP chairman mentioned in the statement was about ensuring visits of provincial ministers to hospitals to monitor the relief work and treatment of the affected people.

Apparently agreeing with the chief minister’s viewpoint the party chief asked him to take up the issue of the power crisis in the province with the federal government.

“He said that loadshedding was a federal issue but asked the chief minister to contact the federal government and the K-Electric for ensuring power supply to mitigate the sufferings of the people,” the statement said.

“The PPP chairman said that Expo Centre and marriage halls could be converted into relief camps and heatstroke centres equipped with all the requirements for the purpose. He also praised the PPP workers, other parties, NGOs and others who established heatstroke centres and relief camps for the victims.”

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2015

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