The Sindh Assembly was informed on Monday that there was no major incident anywhere in the province during the recent heavy rains due to precautionary measures and emergency protective measures taken by the provincial government.
Sindh Chief Minister for Information, Excise and Taxes and Transport Sharjeel Inam Memon said this during his remarks on the floor of the House. He claimed that the Sindh government had taken necessary security measures as soon as the Pakistan Meteorological Department had issued a warning of heavy monsoon rains.
He told the legislature that the entire administrative machinery of the Sindh government under the leadership of Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was active to minimize the losses caused by the heavy rains. He claimed that city mayors and elected representatives of local governments have also worked well during the ongoing rain emergency.
Memon said Badin received a maximum of 200 millimeters of rainfall in Sindh during the last spell. He also informed the House that the Sindh government will provide solar home systems free of cost to 200,000 underprivileged families. In the second phase of the project, 500,000 underprivileged households would receive free solar panels.
The Information Minister told the lawmakers that the Sindh government would launch a major training initiative to provide free IT education to 10,000 students. He claimed that the law and order situation had improved due to the provincial government’s measures and the street crime rate in Karachi had halved.
He also reiterated the Sindh government’s firm commitment to eliminate the menace of narcotics in the province. He mentioned that the driver behind the recent tragic accident on Karsaz was driving under the influence of drugs.
Gender-based violence
Meanwhile, the Sindh Assembly was informed that around 100 cases of gender-based violence were reported to the Sindh government last year. This was stated by Sindh Women Development Minister Shaheena Sher Ali during the session’s question hour. She told the House that justice had been served in 35 such cases.
She assured the concerned legislators that the Sindh government was fulfilling all its legal and constitutional obligations to ensure justice for the victims of such incidents. She informed the House that 22 child care centers are working in the province to protect the children of working women. One such center was working at Abdullah Haroon Road in Karachi and another at the University of Karachi campus, she said, adding that the Sindh government would set up three new day care centres.
Explosives policy
Meanwhile, Sindh Law, Home and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar introduced a resolution in the House urging the federal government to adopt its own policy to deal with explosive materials.
The House was informed that two other provincial legislatures in the country have already passed such resolutions following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, which empowers the federal government to enact a national policy on explosives.
Meanwhile, responding to the alert, the Home Secretary told the House that five armed dacoits were killed in the province in the last two months, while eight bandits were injured and 27 robbers arrested by law enforcement agencies in the same period.
He said the police recovered 24 weapons from the possession of the armed bandits. Police officers have laid down their lives to protect the lives and property of law-abiding people, Lanjar noted, adding that unsuspecting people should not fall into the trap of buying products at cheap prices, seeking marriage proposals or seeking friendship with women. as these were temptations mostly used by the bandits to lure unsuspecting people to visit the areas near the Sindh river belt to kidnap them for ransom. He told the House that there are still two kidnapped persons in the custody of bandits in the province.
Karachi Road
Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani informed lawmakers that repairs to major roads in Karachi damaged by rainwater will begin once the monsoon season ends.
He said this in response to calls from opposition lawmakers. Ghani noted that monsoon rains have been continuing in Karachi for quite some time. He said that after the repair of the highways, work would be started immediately to restore small roads, lanes and streets in various parts of the city damaged by monsoon rains.
He said that under the Competitive and Livable City of Karachi (CLICK) project, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation has carried out works to build or rehabilitate 400 roads in the city. He said the recent rains damaged about 14 to 15 of these roads.
Ghani assured the concerned legislators that the Sindh government would conduct an inquiry into the damage and that those responsible for the damage caused to newly constructed or repaired roads in the city during the rains would be called to book. He said that repairs cannot be started immediately to restore the roads in Karachi as the monsoon season has not ended. Some areas of the provincial capital received up to 200 to 250 mm of rainfall at different times, the LG minister said.
