- PPP MNA Rafiq Jamali disrupted govt schemes by awarding projects to blue-eyed people
KARACHI: Residents of Dadu city and others parts of the district, including Johi, Phulji Station, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Mehar, are facing an acute shortage of clean water despite a number of water supply schemes initiated by the government in past.
In spite of a number of major development projects initiated in the city, the potable water remains an elusive dream for the people of Badin. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Rafiq Jamali awarded these projects to his own people with no regard for the completion of these projects, sources told Pakistan Today.
An Rs 80 million scheme introduced by the Sindh government in 2015 remains incomplete. Under the scheme, the authorities were to dig some eight wells for the supply of water; yet, the blue-eyed people of Jamali had only completed one well, they added.
Moreover, the allocated funds have been shown utilised and the budget revised.
At least 0.5 million population of Dadu city faces water shortage and many of its colonies, including Soomra Colony, Railway Colony, Shahbaz Colony, Marikh poor, Chano Shahabad, water supply is suspended for the last three months.
The failure of the scheme to yield result has irked the local people as well, who questioned the absence of remaining seven wells.
The sources told that “only one well was working at Baz Mal, a small village of Haji Khan Goth, against the proposed wells, and alleged that the schemes were launched by the non-technical people on political grounds; thus ineffective.”
According to sources, a water supply scheme in Johi town was inaugurated in 2011 that was supposed to be finished within two years. However, the scheme remained incomplete till to date. “At least 55 thousand people of the town are suffering from water scarcity as the supply of water from Ward 1 to Ward 10 has been suspended for the last couple of years,” the sources said.
A local PPP leader, requesting anonymity, told Pakistan Today that the PPP had launched many projects aimed at supply of potable water to citizens; however, direct involvement of MNA Jamali had disrupted these relief efforts.
Rafiq Jamali did not respond to Pakistan Today’s calls or text messages.