KARACHI: Federal Overseas Pakistanis Minister Dr Farooq Sattar has said that under a scientific method, garbage would be sent and disposed of at landfill site during the 15-day ‘Clean and Green Karachi Campaign’ in the city.He said this while talking to media representatives after inaugurating the 15-day cleanliness drive by the city government and towns at the Civic Centre, here on Thursday. The cleanliness drive is aimed at mobilising various organisations and it will continue throughout the year.Sindh Information Technology Minister Raza Haroon, Administrator Karachi Fazlur Rehman, DCO Karachi Muhammad Hussain Syed, EDOs, towns and city government officers were also present on this occasion.Talking to media, Dr Sattar said during last two years most of the 9,000 tonnes of garbage produced in the city went into the sewage and storm-water drains, which was the matter of concern.He said all this waste should instead go to landfill site so that the city could be saved from outbreak of contagious diseases.Dr Sattar said that Raza Haroon on the behalf of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was looking into the affairs of civic bodies under a political adjustment and under his monitoring the green and clean Karachi campaign was started.The city will be made more clean and green during the current campaign. Citizens of Karachi should also get maximum opportunity to take part in this work as prevention is better than cure.“Present is the era of public private partnership but this campaign is not a commercial venture and is only for the better health of people and cleanliness in the city. People in Karachi and civic bodies will jointly participate in the drive so that such a system could be devised that all the garbage in city is lifted and disposed of to landfill site under a scientific method”, he said.The federal minister said it would be a great service to the nation if they could repeat the same work in Hyderabad, Larkana, Badin and other cities and villages of Pakistan.
“Results would have been better if we had people’s representatives in these organisations, however, we are trying to fulfill our duties in the present system so that better results can be achieved,” he said.Dr Sattar said the campaign would be made more effective with the addition of Defence Housing Authority, Cantonment Boards and other civic bodies in the cleanliness drive.Replying to a query, the federal minister said that the experiment of separating the Karachi Buildings Control Authority (KBCA) and other bodies from the district government had proved unsuccessful. “All political parties have in their manifesto that there will be a unified system in the civil organisations, therefore, one-day these bodies will have to unite, even the land control and police need to be kept under the control of the city government,” he said.He further said that the citizens should not suffer due to disagreements on legislation among the coalition partners. The local government elections should be held under the law so that people’s representatives could serve the citizens on local level, he said. – Dailytimes
