Regrettably, the transport infrastructure in my province Sindh has been utterly neglected by the past rulers. However, with the coming of the present rulers into power, the deprived and denied people of Sindh cherish a hope that these rulers would accord priority to the construction of roads as well as public health in the province, from which they come into power, but unfortunately all those hopes were dashed.
Larkana was allotted twenty billion rupees for road construction, under much touted Prime Minister’s Larkana Development Package, the people of Larkana would like to know where they were spent. Is there anyone in the corridors of power and politics to take notice of the use (misuse) of this money and answer the tax payer and the people of this city?
Last Sunday, I had to travel home to Larkana, where I found that all the major and smaller roads and streets, both, in the city and out of the city were damaged. The main reason for the continuous damaged roads is the lack of infrastructure of any primarily construction management, misuse of construction material, lack of any handling and lack of waste disposal laws which directly impact the roads drainage systems, causing flooding problems and premature road pavement failure. The construction of Larkana roads was initiated three years ago but so far the construction of not even a single road has been completed.
The handling of the construction material and the disposal of waste after the completion of roads is causing the roadside drains to clog. The reality is that roadside drains are not adequate to handle the waste and the blocking of these drains by this discarded building material causes more damage. These drainage problems are also turning the entire city into a ‘gutter city’. Many streets in Larkana, even the main avenues and roads do not have street lights, hence promoting crime such as mobile and bike snatching.
Famous Lahori Mohla, which is in the constituency of Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, speaker Sindh Assembly, is a classic example of ‘dumping garbage and disposal’ area. The absence of regular cleaning of the drains has added to the misery of the people by the flooding of filthy gutter water onto the roads. For a large city like Larkana, a drainage master plan, along with a drainage policy guideline is required. One often overlooks issue of disposal of waste from high developments, including commercial and industrial waste especially those that are in a congested area. Septic tanks, while being suitable for rural areas are inadequate for such congested areas. The need for drains that can carry this waste outside the city, so that the waste doesn’t overflow to main roads causing environmental damages, needs to be taken into serious consideration.
Lack of clear policy to persecute offenders, those illegally dumping garbage into the drainage system, is also an impediment. In this matter, it is proposed that the law enforcement officials and the civic bodies must have a range of powers available to them, particularly to the police, the road and the city authorities, to prosecute road drainage offenders. There should also be a very clear boundary as to who is responsible for leaving the construction material on the roads, and the laying of gas and other pipe lines should be completed before a road is constructed avoiding reconstruction of roads .
HASHIM ABRO,
Islambad, September 3.