Equipped with all the paraphernalia of a cleanliness drive, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) party leaders and supporters gathered brooms and shovels to kick off their ‘Clean Karachi Campaign’ (CKC) on Thursday.
The drive’s stated goal is to clean the city and its ‘mindset’. Special camps have been established in Lines Area, Kharadar, Korangi, Malir Town, and other parts of East, Center, West and South Karachi where volunteers have started cleaning roads and streets.
The campaign continued till 5pm. The party leaders visited different areas to monitor the campaign. Several areas already lack proper facilities for the collection and lifting of garbage resulting in unsanitary conditions quite visible in almost all the localities of each town.
While talking to media, MQM’s Mayor Waseem Akhtar slammed the Sindh government. He said the Sindh government neither wanted to see Karachi developed nor its citizens be happy. Waseem stated that by ordering the placement of 90 loaders in front of Bilawal House, it was obvious the Sindh government considered the municipal machinery its personal property. He said since the past seven years Karachi had become a waste dump and the sewerage system had been decimated and burning of waste had also caused pollution in the city. Akhtar stated the MQM would initiate the cleanliness campaign as per schedule by renting all the machinery.
‘NO POLITICS IN NAME OF CLEANLINESS CAMPAIGN’
Sindh Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro has said that no political party would be allowed to do politics in the name of cleanliness campaign by hoisting party flag on government machinery.
In a statement, he said that cleanliness drive was under way for the last one month and would continue under the supervision of Sindh government officials. “No government-owned machinery would be handed over to any political party,” the minister said. He said that NGOs and political parties willing to join the on-going campaign would be welcomed.
