Largely because of its excellent geographical location, Sukkur was a prosperous and culturally rich city of Sindh after independence and even some time thereafter. It is the third largest city of Sindh even at present. But, unfortunately, this once beautiful city is now a ruin because of complete neglect of its civic affairs. As a result, its roads, lanes and streets are in shambles; sewerage gutters are overflowing and multi-storey buildings dot the landscape in such density that pedestrians find it difficult to walk the streets. The greatest misery of all is that despite being located on the bank of Indus River, Sukkur city has no potable water available. The residents, therefore, are forced to drink unhygienic water obtained from polluted sources, which causes regular outbreaks of hepatitis C in the city. The incumbent Nazim, who has been at helm since the beginning of the city government system, should be held responsible for all these problems. I fail to comprehend why people of Sukkur never ask the man what happened to the funds granted for the development of city during the last seven years. Billions have been wasted and nobody is liable to answer for them. -ALTAF HUSSAIN QURESHI, Hyderabad, via e-mail, January 8.