Traders irked by filthy, unsanitary condition of city

Small traders have asked the government to look into the cleanliness condition in the city, as spewing gutters and broken roads are negatively affecting the business activities. "The chocked gutters should be cleared to cleanse the markets from filthy accumulated water that hinders public movement and sales," President, All Pakistan Organisation of Small Traders and Cottage Industry, Karachi Chapter, Mehmood Hamid, said on Monday.
He demanded of the government to recall the 'ghost' employees of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board to their jobs so that gutter cleansing and dirt lifting from markets could be started immediately. He said that the dirty roads inside markets had left every businessman toiling in running their set-ups.
He further said that plague was spreading due to unsanitary condition in markets located on M.A. Jinnah Road, Urdu Bazaar, Burns Road, Numaish Chowrangi, Nursery on Shahra-e-Faisal, Power House, Jahangir Road and other major roads. "The accumulated gutter water also slows down the pace of traffic on main roads which leads to traffic jams for hours and creates discomfort among citizens," Hamid said, adding that the concerned departments responsible for sanitation had shown negligence due to which public problems had increased manyfold.
Chairman, All Karachi Tajir Ittehad, Muhammad Atiq Mir, said that the city had plunged into serious civic problems since the Sindh government had abandoned the metropolis because of what he claimed political reasons. "The city is facing civic crisis due to roadside encroachments, disorderly car parking, broken roads, insanitation, wrong way traffic movements, etc," he pointed out, saying the government had to work out a solution in consultation with the stakeholders. He urged the city administration to play its role to overcome the growing civic problems.
"The city's growing civic problems cannot be either ignored or set aside as time is ripe for the government to respond immediately and effectively," Mir said, blaming the former and present governments for creating the mess. The government should introduce reforms through mutual consultations with civil society, traders and other key stakeholders to help improve the city's outlook and make it a beautiful destination for world tourists, he said.