Give until Aug 30 to clean Karachi drains, Sindh govt requests SC

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Thursday requested the Supreme Court to give it until August 30 to clean Karachi’s stormwater drains, ARY News reported.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, was hearing a case related to illegal encroachments on drains at the apex court’s Karachi registry.

The Advocate General (AG) submitted a report on behalf of the local government secretary, informing that work on cleaning of drains is underway. 50 per cent of the city’s Gujjar Nullah and 20 per cent of CBM Nullah have been cleaned, he said.

Read More: SC directs NDMA to clean all Karachi nullahs in three months

He said that Sindh Govt has undertaken the task with cooperation of the World Bank. He added Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has assured that all drains will be cleaned until August 30.

Justice Ijazul Ahsan, a member of the bench, questioned what issue does the government have with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) cleaning drains?

Read More: FWO cleans three major sewerage drains of Karachi: NDMA

CJP Gulzar remarked that the actual issue is that the Sindh government will risk losing World Bank funds if it is not allowed to clean drains on its own and asked what funds had it used properly in the past.

He reprimanded the AG on presenting pictures of cleaned nullahs in court, questioning what was he trying to prove by doing so? “Karachi’s population is more than 30 million. By cleaning two-three nullahs, you say Karachi’s problem stands resolved.”