KARACHI: Businessmen Group (BMG) Chairman and former Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Siraj Kassam Teli, while appreciating Sindh government’s initiative to observe ‘Clean, Green and Peaceful Sindh’ week, stated that KCCI warmly welcomes and supports this initiative but this campaign should not just remain active for a week only and should continue throughout the year so that cleanliness on permanent basis across the city could be ensured.
An effective system should be devised on permanent basis to ensure cleanliness in every town of the city and KCCI is ready to extend full support in this regard, BMG Chairman added while speaking at a press conference organized at KCCI.
BMG Vice Chairman Tahir Khaliq, KCCI President Iftikhar Ahmed Vohra, Senior Vice President Muhammad Ibrahim Kasumbi and Managing Committee member were also present on the occasion.
Siraj Kassam Teli, while explaining how business community can play its role in Sindh government’s cleanliness drive, said that President KCCI will immediately be writing letters to all seven industrial town associations of the city who will be asked to ensure cleanliness in their respective areas and streets, footpaths near their factories by properly dumping garbage and other waste to allocated sites whereas KMC must also ensure timely clearance of this waste from the allocated sites in various towns.
“All industrial town associations will further be advised to closely monitor clearance of garbage from designated sites and any failure of KMC authorities to timely clear waste should be immediately reported to KCCI so that the concerned authorities could be urged to act swiftly”, he added.
He said that the business community, on their part, can surely ensure cleanliness near their factory premises, undertake plantation campaigns, remove wall-chalking and make sure that all types of garbage and waste was being dumped at allocated dumping sites but KMC authorities must also clear garbage from these dumping sites in various towns on regular basis.
He further said that the business community will not extend any monetary support for cleanliness of the city but can surely consider adopting parks and roundabouts as done in the past. “We can adopt parks and roundabouts in various industrial town associations and it will be our responsibility to maintain and make these parks and roundabouts greener which would give a beautiful look to the metropolitan city of Karachi”, he added.
BMG Chairman further suggested that the gigantic task of cleaning the metropolitan city of Karachi, which was spread on a massive land of 3500 sq kilometers and holds a massive population of more than 22.5 million, should be outsourced or privatized which would yield positive results whereas the task to clear storm water drains and Nullahs should also be handed over to any private firm in shape of a contract.
He was of the view that most of the storm water drains and Nullahs all over the city were encroached whereas the limited space available for flow of storm water was accumulated by garbage, particularly plastic bags which further block water flow. Fortunately, no major rainfall was witnessed last year but if heavy rainfalls occur this year and no step was taken to clear storm water drain, it would surely create a disaster situation all over the city, he warned.
Replying to a question regarding local government election, Siraj Teli said that local government elections must take place but laws pertaining to local government should not be enacted under the whims and desires of any political party but international laws and models of local government, which proved successful in many developed cities around the world, should also implemented in Karachi which would help in improving the overall standard of living in this city.
