KARACHI: Different diseases, especially waterborne ailments, are on the rise in the megacity as the municipal services here continue to decline despite tall claims of the city mayor, said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday. He said cases of waterborne diseases, likely diarrhea, are increasing in children mainly due to the use of contaminated water. He said broken water pipelines and overflowing gutters are the main cause of the contaminated water. He said in many localities people living in shanty towns break water pipelines to fetch water and wash their clothes at the site of broken pipelines with free flowing water. He said drivers of rickshaws and other vehicles also wash their vehicles here but resultantly the dirty water in these processes get mixed with the pipeline water and supplied to citizens who also use it for the drinking purposes. He said the Water Board should take notice of this malpractice as its corrupt officials ignore or even patronize this malpractice. He said many areas face water shortage on one hand and on the other hundreds of thousands of liters of water is cruelly wasted through the deliberately broken pipelines. Altaf Shakoor said solid waste in the megacity is not being properly lifted and garbage hills could be seen in many localities. He said despite private companies earning billions from lucrative garbage lifting contracts, the municipal conditions of the megacity are pathetic. He said European countries are making millions by recycling its garbage while our citizens face diseases and agony due to uncollected garbage. He said the elected councilors have failed to discharge their responsibilities. The town Nazims and city mayor are delivering political sermons but their performance on ground is dismal. He said the city and town governments should improve their performance and walk their talk. He said illegal constructions and Kachi Abadies are thriving under the government’s patronage. He said shanty settlements are spreading in every area and also along the main highways especially the M-9 Superhighway, but the concerned agencies are playing the role of silent spectator. He demanded that garbage lifting and other municipal services should be improved to check the spread of diseases in the megacity. He said a comprehensive plan should be chalked out to improve living conditions in Karachi to facilitate citizens. He said the provincial and federal governments should fully assist Karachi in meeting its civic challenges effectively. He said bettering Karachi would improve Pakistan as the megacity is the financial and economic engine of the whole country.
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