PTI leaders blame Sindh govt for water, wheat crisis in Karachi

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders have held the People’s Party government responsible for the worst water and wheat crisis in Sindh despite the availability of more than enough water and wheat in the province.

The leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly Firdous Shamim Naqvi while addressing a press conference along with Adviser on Maritime Affairs Mahmood Moulvi said People Party’s rulers were only involved in plundering public money and they had no concern for resolving the major issues of the province.

Naqvi alleged that the PPP rulers and their “blue-eyed boys” in different departments, including in irrigation and Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority had made the lives of people miserable.

He said the PPP had intentionally created an artificial shortage of water in the city and was punishing the residents into crisis.

Karachi is facing 450 million gallon water shortage per day, Shamim Naqvi added. The PTI leader said The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) had approved the K-IV water project in the year 2014.

“The route of the project changed to enhance prices of lands owned by favorites,” Naqvi alleged. The project, which is badly required to be completed to resolve the water crisis in Karachi, delayed and its costs also increased, he lamented.  

Naqvi also held the PPP responsible for delay in completion of the K-IV project, adding that the PPP didn’t show seriousness over the water crisis in the metropolis.

He further said there were billions of rupees corruption in KWSB and demanded that audit should be conducted of the local government ministry.

“Karachi’s population is growing every year, the city is in dire need of water. The PPP has not shown any seriousness in supplying water to the city” he said.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan should mercy on the condition of the city and legal action should be taken according to the constitution.

In order to meet the demand of the water in Karachi, K-IV water project, a municipal infrastructure project, being jointly developed by the provincial and federal governments.

On this occasion, Adviser on Maritime Affairs, Mahmood Moulvi said for the last few days, some vested interests in Sindh were trying their best to hold the federal government responsible for the wheat crisis.

He said, however, the facts told a different story, and exposed the ugly face of the Sindh government, its corruption and mismanagement.

He made it clear that the provincial government was responsible for supplying wheat to the flour mills and others associated with this business.

Regretting that PPP leaders were making uproar over ‘injustice’ with the province, he said the injustice was done by those who had looted the government funds and minted money during wheat procurement and its distribution.

The PTI leader said corruption mafia in Sindh had sold several millions of tonnes of wheat to its favourites on credit, and made no recovery from them.

Mahmood Moulvi further said controlling the rate of wheat flour was also the responsibility of the Sindh government. He said wheat flour was given to Sindh at the rate of Rs 40 per kg, but it is being sold at Rs 50 per kg across the province.

Condemning the surge in wheat prices, Mahmood Moulvi said the provincial government’s incompetence had triggered the crisis and demanded strict action against those responsible.