- Opposition leaders say Karachi ignored in budget
- Govt ministers rubbish opposition leaders’ accusation
The provincial assembly members took up the issue of the provision of safe drinking water and urged the government to take drastic measures to ensure its provision during the Sindh Assembly’s proceedings, the other day.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman in his budget speech said, “The budget is being increased in every sector yet people living in Sindh have no potable water”.
Zaman, while accusing the provincial government of neglecting Karachi, despite the city being the economic hub of the country, said that taxes are being increased with each passing day but people have no tap water and the government has allocated only Rs12 billion for the city, which is less than other divisions.
“It looks like Karachi city is not on the government’s priority list,” he remarked. “Government ministers laud their government’s efforts but no one cares that people of 13 districts of Sindh are deprived of potable water,” said the PTI MPA.
The PTI MPA went on to say that the provincial government has also violated rules of merit in government jobs and is responsible for the declining education standard in the province, he accused.
“Degrees are being sold in the market. The incumbent government has done nothing in the last nine years. I fail to understand why the National Accountability Bureau is not taking action against them,” he said.
Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz’s (PML-N) Shafi Jamote drew the attention of the House towards Manchar Lake, one of the largest lakes in Asia, and demanded the government to revive it.
“It has turned into a poisonous lake where people living on its edges cannot even drink water,” he said, adding that the government has allocated an amount for a colony for fishermen but must also consider preserving fishermen’s livelihood.
MPA Sharmila Faruqi of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) appreciated the provincial government for allocating 27 per cent budget for education; opposition members just want to criticise the government, she added.
“In this budget, Rs6.5 billion has been allocated for lady health workers, which is a good omen,” she said, adding that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and its mayor are making the budget controversial over funds for Karachi.
“I want to inform them [the MQM] that Karachi is dear to us and we have allocated around Rs70 billion for it. They are afraid because the PPP is working for masses in Karachi,” she said.
While addressing the issue of provision of potable water, she said that the K-IV project will meet the water requirements of the citizens.
MQM’s Mohammad Zubair, while accusing the provincial government of discrimination against non-PPP constituencies, said development work has been started in selected areas, especially in PPP constituencies. “Hyderabad is located on the bank of the Indus River but its water is not drinkable. We have been making hue and cry about this on this very floor but the government has turned a blind eye to our concerns,” he said.
PPP leader Manzoor Wasan resorted to criticising the MQM and PML-Functional and said that they had looted and plundered public funds during former President General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s tenure. “They have set a precedent of corruption but now consider themselves holy cows,” Wasan said, adding that PML-F workers and local leaders have made the lives of people miserable in Khairpur Mir district where they are squeezing money from oil companies exploring gas and oil fields in the area. “They have encroached upon most of the forest department land,” he claimed.
Whereas, PTI MPA Dr Seema Zia delved into the issue of women harassment at workplaces and requested the chief minister and other concerned authorities to take notice of it. “A bill against women harassment has been presented in all assemblies except Sindh, so the government should consider [passing one],” she said.
Planning and Development Minister Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, while acknowledging the opposition members’ grievances about the water crisis, said, “We are remodelling drinking water lines and funding has been allocated for the same in the upcoming budget”.
