KARACHI: The Chairman of Businessmen Group (BMG), Siraj Kassam Teli, who is also a former president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), has said that the task of developing the infrastructure has to be immediately given to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) while sufficient funding by the federal and provincial governments must also be made available all the time for this particular purpose so that the entire infrastructure of the city could be improved.
While referring to the hearing at the Supreme Court's Karachi Registry on Wednesday, Siraj Teli thanked the Chief Justice of Pakistan for ordering that the task of cleaning of all the drains in Karachi be given to the NDMA.
He hoped that keeping in view the hardships being faced by Karachiites, the gigantic task of developing Karachi's infrastructure would also be given to the NDMA and the FWO. He said, "We demanded that the task to improve and develop the dilapidated infrastructure of Karachi should immediately be outsourced to NDMA and FWO under Pak Army's supervision for five years as we firmly believe that it is beyond the capability/capacity of all the concerned departments of the provincial setup and the local administration to deal with the worsening situation.
"The infrastructure in Karachi including roads, normal and rainwater drainage system, sewerage lines, water distribution, cleanliness and sanitation and other civic facilities can only be improved by engaging the NDMA and FWO which is not only being supported by majority of the business and industrial community but also by overwhelming inhabitants of this city who are living in miserable conditions."
Siraj Teli said that it was high time the shabby infrastructure of Karachi was developed on a priority basis under the army's supervision otherwise the situation would continue to deteriorate, making living and doing of business in Karachi impossible. In this regard, Siraj Teli stressed that those who supported his statement should visit KCCI website (http://www.kcci.com.pk/research/khi-support/) and get counted by extending their support.
BMGIANs, KCCI's General Body members and other members of the business and industrial community and people belonging to all walks of life must come forward to support this cause undertaken in the larger interest of the city and the country.
Siraj Teli was fairly optimistic that the majority of Karachiites would support him as everyone wanted the patriotic Armed Forces to save Karachi from further disaster by outsourcing the city's infrastructure development to the NDMA and the FWO.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020