Experts at a seminar have resolved for an effective sustainable clean Karachi Action Programme to enforce rule of law, visible implementation of law, accountability and transparency. Speaking at a seminar on "A Clean Karachi How", organised by Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) that said a master plan for Karachi should be prepared giving priority to infrastructure, high rises and transport.
They said prioritizing the sanitation problem and water needs of Karachi and garbage disposal by redefining duties and responsibilities of Karachi civic delivery authorities and ensuring co-ordination between them.
They proposed that a joint monitoring team (JMT) should be established, headed by a senior member of the high judiciary to oversee the Clean Karachi programme. They stressed upon institutionalized programmes for sustained city cleanness involving the government bodies, and all city stakeholders like industrialists, religious scholars, the media, educational institutions, traders and the building management committees.
While welcoming the guests at this seminar, the PMA Secretary General Dr S M Qaisar Sajjad informed the participants that PMA and Karachi Citizens Forum had six meetings after rains in Karachi, discussed in details the issues of garbage and sewage.
He said people were claiming to clean Karachi within few months, weeks and 48 hours but nothing happened. He said that there is increase in number of cases of water born diseases, mosquito and flies born diseases, skin infection, conjunctivitis and other diseases just because of filthy situation and unhygienic conditions in Karachi.
"Today on this forum, we will decide that who will clean Karachi, how will it be cleaned on regular basis", he said and requested the guests to talk about the future strategy about cleaning Karachi and avoid describing previous stories.
Ms Nargis Rehman, Chairperson Pakistan Women's Foundation for Peace, spoke to the audience and said, it was announced in 2011 that Karachi is not worth living city.
Now it ranks fourth in the world's most unlivable cities. "We have been facing loss of life and property for last so many decades. We have discussed at large, Karachi's civic issues during our previous six meetings. It is regrettable that Karachi has no Plan, whereas we need to have new master plan for Karachi", she said and called for implementation of laws, accountability, monitoring and privatization of sanitation of Karachi.
Kamal Azfar, ex-Governor Sindh, said that there are three governments working in the city. There are six cantonment boards of federal government and three development authorities of Sindh government, whereas only 1/3 area of Karachi comes under the jurisdiction of KMC.
The basic problem of Karachi is overlap of power in different parts of the city. The entire Karachi remained under the Karachi Improvement Trust Act 1950 (KIT Act) from 1950 to 1957 untill the KIT Act was repealed and replaced by Karachi Development Order 1957. "You cannot solve the civic issues of Karachi until and unless there does not exist structured government and governance in the city", he said.
Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, General Secretary PMA Karachi talked about the burden of diseases in the city. Thousands of patients are suffering from pneumonia, typhoid, dengue and diarrhea. "Patients suffering from diarrhea visit tertiary care hospitals because our primary and secondary health care facilities are not functioning.
We need to complete overhauling of primary and secondary health care system. We have laws but unfortunately there is no concept of implementation. We need to strengthen our primary health care to decrease burden of tertiary care, then its need of the
hour to spend more on prevention rather than cure", he added. Dr Qazi Muhammad Wasiq stressed upon the need to work on community hygiene, it should be included in the syllabus at school and college level. He said there should be proper garbage collection system in each residential buildings of Karachi. Even there is no proper system for the hospital waste.
Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly, said, "Until we do not dispose 30 lac tone garbage of Karachi, the city cannot be cleaned.
Then start cleaning city on daily basis. This is not the responsibility of any single but its responsibility of all of us to keep our city clean". "If the responsibilities are given to me, I can clean Karachi on daily basis", he said.
He said 13,000 to 15,000 tons garbage is produced daily in Karachi but not lifted.
He said that Sindh Waste Management has fixed budget but they are not discharging their responsibilities. KMC has its own budget for lifting garbage but the work is never done properly. Aftab Hussain Siddiqui, MNA from Karachi, said Solid Waste Management should fulfil its responsibilities and increase its capacity. The local government should be strengthened and given powers to overcome the civic issues of Karachi.
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