KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, on Wednesday, said that the safety of citizens and preservation of the environment depend on the continuous maintenance of both public and private vehicles.
He said this while addressing a groundbreaking ceremony of the first Vehicle Inspection and Certification System (VICS) Center at SITE area.
“This is why the provincial government in partnership with the private sector is going to establish a state-of-the-art VICS in the city,” said the chief minister.
He said that vehicle fitness is a very crucial component of road safety regime and an effective VICS programme will play a vital role in ensuring the safety of citizens and the preservation of the environment.
Murad said that the presence of unfit vehicles on roads is not only causing environmental pollution but also contributing to road accidents.
The Transport & Mass Transit department (TMT) had signed a concession agreement with OPUS, a consortium, in July 2017. Under the VICS a state-of-the-art vehicle inspection and certification system complying with international standards and specification will be established.
Murad said that in the first phase the VICS centre is being established in the city and in the second phase there will be a separate centre in every divisional headquarter.
Talking to the media, the chief minister said that the mechanical sweeping and washing of roads and lifting of garbage in different parts of the city has started successfully. He urged the media to take up the issue of cleanliness where it still exists.
He said that the sweeping and cleanliness work of the west division has been given to Sindh Solid Waste Management Board and very soon mechanical sweeping and lifting of garbage would be started there.
Replying to a question, he said that he has released the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) budget and has given them extra funds where they were required.
“We have strengthened it [the KMC] financially and I am sure they will also improve their performance,” he remarked.
He deplored that last Sunday he had visited the city and saw that the shopkeepers had thrown out their trash on the road instead of putting it into the dustbin that the Solid Waste Management Board had placed there.
Replying to another question, the chief minister said that he is also focusing on curbing street crime in the city.
“The city of Karachi after experiencing terrorism and target killing has turned peaceful to such an extent that no terrorist incident took place in the city during 2017. Now, we are making this city more peaceful by launching a targeted operation against the street criminals,” he said.
“In the past there used to be shutter down strikes, passenger buses were set on fire, roads were blocked but now such things have become history. This is the success of the people of Karachi who rejected the criminals and supported the government to eliminate them,” he further stated.
On the occasion Transport and Information Minister Nasir Shah also spoke and briefed about the features of the VICS and its benefit for road safety and preservation of the environment.
He was accompanied by Transport and Information Minister Syed Nasir Shah.
