It is now two years since Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan took charge of the office of the Governor. He was sworn in on 27 December 2002 on his return from London where he stayed for ten long years. Two years after his taking up the charge, he had resolved to bridge the gap between the rural and the urban areas of the province and to bring about good governance. He had resolved to improve the standard of living of the common man and to bring life in Karachi back on the rails.
In the beginning of his tenure he had detailed meetings with the politicians of the province and with the leaders in different walks of life. A part from meeting the late Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, Professor Ghaffor Ahmad, Mumtaz Bhutto, Hakim Ali Zardari and other politicians, he also met workers and members of the management of different newspapers.
As soon as Dr Ishart-ul-Ebad Khan was inducted as the governor, the very first ordinance he issued was the Ordinance against extortion (or Bhatta). Because of the Ordinance, a very positive effect was registered.
According to figures, 62 extortionists were trapped and caught. Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan personally visited markets and bazaar where shopkeepers said that the situation overall had improved after the promulgation of the Ordinance.
The governor solicited more cooperation of the people and assured them that with their cooperation the scourge of Bhatta will vanish from our cities and our province. He revived the New Malir Housing scheme which was pending for ages, in fact, the allottees had lost heart to such an extent that they had begun to ask for the return of their investment.
The scheme became effective again only when Dr Ishrat took interest in it. The allottees were given physical possession of their plots after which development work was taken in hand.
The situation was identical in Surjani and Hawkesbay schemes where after his personal initiative development work is now in progress.
He called high-powered delegations into the Governor House and made the local administration more active. He is considered to be the first governor of Sindh who instead of sitting in the comfort of the Governor House went out into different areas of the city to acquaint himself of the problems of the people.
He issued on-the-spot orders for the solution of their problems. He alongwith the chief ministers and other officials worked as a team in this regard. He kept the 'nazmins' of the local governments and provided the necessary guidance.
Some of the projects and schemes in his ongoing tenure are the provision of health, education measures, availability of drinking water, low-cost housing scheme, setting up of the offices of the provincial 'mohtasib' setting up of the Mirpur Khas education board, making North Karachi Children hospital more effective, improvement of the police hospital, inauguration of development schemes, spotting out of the ghost and ineffective educational institutions, provision of thirty billion rupees for upgrading the universities and to bring them in line with similar universities elsewhere, solution of the pending matters in Malir Housing Project, Hawkesbay, Korangi, and Surjani Town where work is fast in progress after he took interest.
Some other achievements are the inauguration of work on the low cost housing in collaboration with foreign investors, equipping the kutchi abadis with the latest facilities, construction of Layari Expressway, Northern bypass, Gulbai, Hino Chowk, Hawkesbay, Shahrae Quaideen, F.T.C. Flyover, Korangi Road, Sharae Ghalib, Karsaz, construction of Dalmia Road and monitoring of work on other roads of the city. Not to be left out is the construction work on Shabbir Usmani Road, Five Star roundabout, North Karachi, Karimabad roundabout, North Karachi Mono Technic School, making more effective the monitoring of the pace of the work on the children hospital after repeated inspection visits, setting up of the industrial boards and of the infra structure, success in bringing the price of the electricity on a par with the price in other parts of the country and two folds increase in the water supply in the industrial areas.
Other measures which met with success are the maintenance of law and order during Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha and other occasions, promotion of arts, sports and culture. It may be mentioned in this regard that the annual grant of the Arts Council was increased to Rs One million, and the auditorium was completed and inaugurated. Terrorism and crime by and large were finished and the splendour of Karachi was restored again.
Among other successes can be counted the practical work on banning the barbaric custom of 'karo kari'.
The holding of the cricket match between India and Pakistan and many international events was also because of the efforts of the Governor which was acknowledge on both the national and international levels. By inaugurating the cultural village project, the Governor has won over the hearts of the people who love arts and culture.
Surprise visits of Governor Ishrat-ul-Ebad have assumed a big importance. He mixes up with people during his visits freely and finds out their problems. He inspects hospitals and police stations, he orders instant relief for the sufferers.
The busting of the dens of gambling, of betting, of narcotics and crime are some of his special achievements. He made special efforts for finishing off the no-go areas and for providing relief to the victims of the former no-go areas. To mitigate the sufferings of the families of the missing in the decade of the 'nineties he made a huge effort.
The issue of karo-kari was mostly confined to debates and discussions and nothing beyond that. By calling up meetings constantly and by persistent follow up efforts, he gave a new and hitherto unknown dimension on making the hands of law more effective and powerful.
On the provincial level he caused law against karo kari to be enacted and since the law was to be enacted at the Federal level, it was sent up for action. As a result of this, the law was promulgated at the federal level. All politicians at every level raised their voice against this barbaric custom and the consciousness against it became more acute.
New Karachi Children Hospital and mono technic hospital are some of the examples about which the governor having read in the newspapers took action.
In the health sector, the work done by the Governor is of significance. He caused his Alma meter to be upgraded into a university. His personal and practical interest for the eradication of polio was taken notice of at the World Health Organisation in Geneva.
He played an effective role in getting the College of Physicians and Surgeons upgraded. In the last 57 years he is the first governor who has placed the greatest importance on the medico legal set up. He introduced reforms to make its working effective and transparent.
He brought the system of the transfusion of blood under regulatory control which often becomes the cause of spreading Aides. On the 1st of January 2005, the law and regulations on the transfusion of blood were updated.
The film industry in Karachi is in a bad shape. Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad with the help of distinguished film stars, producers and industrialists has chalked out a comprehensive programme for its revival.
The exemplary services rendered by Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad in the field of education, industry and culture, will be difficult to emulate. The services rendered by him cannot be taken notice of in this brief write-up. It is now said about him that the future rulers will have to work very hard to match the standards of sincerity, hardwork, speedy implementation and dedication set up by Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad.
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