KASUR-Levelling corruption allegations against the big shots of Kasur Tehsil Municipal Committee [TMC] in a petition filed at Kasur District and Sessions court, a citizen namely Advocate Waqas Abid said that Kasur City depicted the look of a waste dump due to negligence of the TMC authorities.
The petitioner blamed TMC chairman Ayaz Ahmed Khan for conniving with the corrupt officials to embezzle public funds, saying that he had showed zero performance vis-à-vis resolving public issues. He alleged that his indifference to civic problems had turned the whole city into a landfill, and regretting that the people dwelling in different localities of Kasur City did not find even a single drop of clean drinking water.
He claimed that the TMC authorities were the people's particular bête noire because they had left them at the mercy of the miserable circumstances. "The TMC chairman always remains busy making money with the collusion of corrupt officers," he affirmed, and lamenting that the locals, victims of the authorities' tyrannical behaviour, were reportedly falling prey to diseases.
The petitioner pointed out that the TMC chairman and other officers were bound to ensure cleanliness, effective sanitation system, and availability of potable water in Kasur City which they did not. "The TMC authorities claim that they spend Rs300 million for public welfare projects each year, but there is a big nil when the projects' completion is sought which clearly shows that the funds are either misused or go into 'someone's pocket'," he flayed. "Sewage flows in the streets of Ward No. 39 owing to the ineffective sanitation system. Not only has the sewage turned the streets into ponds of dirty water but it has also seeped into the locals' houses," he added. He said that the dirty water accumulated in the streets forced the commuters and motorists to choose longer ways to reach their destinations. "Similarly, piles of trash in front of mosques disturb the people greatly coming for five-time obligatory prayers," he said, and adding that the dirt had caused the mosquitoes to mushroom in the area which threatened the outbreak of dengue, malaria, and other mosquito-borne disease. "The children, women, and the elderly ones are the worst sufferers of mushrooming of mosquitoes because they are under constant threat of dengue attacks," he expressed concerns. He stated that the PHED had allocated millions of rupees for the installation of new sewer pipes in Kasur City about three years ago, but the funds were allegedly misappropriated before being utilised for the true purpose. "It is due to the apathy of the TMC authorities that the residents of Kasur City are compelled to drink sewage-mixed water," he flayed.
Citing civil laws in his petition, he said that the sewage and wastes of a locality could not be drained into another's drainage system. "But the PHED, at the behest of the local governments, releases wastes of new settlements into small drains of Ward No. 39," he alleged, and maintained that it had caused sewer lines of the locality to overflow turning the area into a water pond. "The dillydallying tactics of the TMC authorities to remove sewage and garbage heaps from the area threaten the spread of dirt-borne allergic diseases," he stated. Flaying authorities' indifference to solve public problems, he also lamented the fact that people were not educated enough to dump wastes in a civilised manner. "They throw waste material, discarded polythene bags, and food leftovers into sewerage lines, causing the drains to clog," he said, and adding that the sewer lines needed regular cleaning after short intervals, but the MC officials had nothing to do with it and were drawing salaries for doing nothing. He also blamed the TMC authorities for withdrawing millions of rupees under the guise of the salaries of the employees who had never been recruited.
He, in his petition, claimed that he had drawn the attention of the TMC authorities to the grave situation in July 2018 budgetary session but to no avail. "Even the publication of news stories in daily newspapers could not bring the TMC authorities into action to ensure practical steps for cleanliness in the dirt-littered area punctuated by water ponds and piles of rubbish," he said, and claiming that he had submitted an application to the B-Division police for registration of a case against the TMC big guns. He, in his petition, had also mentioned former Public Health and Engineering Department [PHED] executive engineer M Nasir as a witness to the irregularities.