An inauguration ceremony was held in this regard, in which Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah was the chief guest. Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Administrator Murtaza Wahab, SSWMB Managing Director Zubair Channa and Sindh Local Government Secretary Syed Najam Ahmed Shah were also present at the ceremony.
Addressing the event, Shah said that as per the new local government law, the Karachi mayor would be the chairman of the waste management board. The ceremony was informed that additional 140 mini-tippers, which are three-wheel trucks, and 350 vehicles had been handed over to the District West and District Keamari’s staff of the SSWMB.
The local government minister said that after the induction of the additional fleet, it would be ensured that 100 per cent door-to-door garbage collection took place in both the districts. He added that Karachi would be made a neat and clean city as per the vision of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
The solid waste management board was operating not only in Karachi but also other cities of the province, Shah maintained. He also assured that the SSWMB would soon become fully operational in District Central of the city.
Responding to a question, Shah said that under the new local government law, the city’s mayor would be the chairman of the SSWMB and would be empowered. He added that if the entire city’s garbage collection came under the ambit of the SSWMB, the cleanliness situation of Karachi would drastically improve.
Channa said that with the additional fleet of mini-tippers, the garbage collection process in District West and District Keamari would improve. He added that of the 140 mini-tippers, 40 were electric. He announced that portable compactor transfer station (PCTS) vehicles would also be acquired in one to two months, which would help in garbage collection. The Chinese company Hangzhou’s chief executive officer also addressed the function and talked about steps being taken by the company for cleanliness in different districts of Karachi.
