KARACHI: Mayor Karachi and Spokesperson of Sindh Government Barrister Murtaza Wahab has said that during the days of Eidul Azha, 1,13,035 tons of offal and sacrificial waste were removed from the megacity, and more than twenty-four thousand staff worked day and night.
Only with unity, we can solve the problems of the citizens, we will work with the same spirit in the monsoon rains; all was done not by ‘the critics’ or their party but by the hard work of the local bodies, he said addressing a news conference at Clifton Park on Sunday.
Mayor Karachi further said that on the first day of Eid, he had said on the Polo Ground that the staff will be seen working and appealed to the citizens to cooperate so that they can serve the public. “For the last five days, the civic administration has been working day in and day out for which I thank them.
I am grateful to all the officers of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, the District Administration, the Town Chairmen, and the workers; they all worked together with love and affection. I visited every town and saw the pace of work. Alhamdulillah, the sacrificial waste and offal were collected in a good manner.”
He said the process of picking the offal and sacrificial waste started a day before Eid as the Bohri community performs the sacrifice a day before. Perhaps the critics found out for the first time in 75 years when the Bohra community celebrates Eid while the Ahl al-Hadith community is still offering sacrifices on Sunday.
Wahab said that 1,13,035 tons of Eid-specific garbage was disposed of, including the garbage that was picked up from the city daily. More than 24,000 staffers were working this year.
He said this year boy scouts also helped us. I am also grateful to all my friends in the media. The media did positive reporting and pointed out the problems. With the help of the media, it was possible to clean up some places immediately.
Wahab said that the offal was somewhere seized by people who were tearing them with knives. We immediately contacted the police, 115 people were arrested and legal action was taken against them.
Murtaza Wahab said that the garbage was prevented from falling from the vehicles while carrying it to the landfill sites. A few people made selfies and pictures while sitting on waste and released them on social media. Karachi is an unfortunate city where social media showed the city as dirty, but positive people appreciated the efforts of the administration. Garbage is not picked up anywhere in the world for 24 hours continuously.
Likewise, garbage is not picked up day and night, while in Karachi, the garbage was picked up well before the designated time. Although we were mocked for taking selfies at some places, when those places were cleared, they made victory signs and took pictures as if they had cleared them. However, people know very well that the cleaning was done by none other than the local administration.
Mayor Karachi said that the critics or the workers of their party did not clean the megacity; it was done by the staff of the SSWMB. My question is did they carry the offal to Jam Chakro themselves? They just carried the waste from the houses and put dumped at street corners. The staff of the SSWMB picked up the offal from these street corners. We are slowly completing the task of cleaning the city. The next challenge is the monsoon rains; the staff will be there to clear the drains.
In response to a question, Mayor Karachi said that this city has seen the worst of times and now good times have arrived and we are seriously solving the problems of the megacity. He said JI’s Hafiz Naeemur Rahman is an ‘innocent’ man, he does not know that I am the Chairman of the Solid Waste Management Board, as well. The MD of Solid Waste reports to me. Mayor Karachi said that the SSWMB in Korangi District and Central District is facing difficulties but still, it has done better work this year.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023