Karachi protesters disperse after talks with CBC fall through

KARACHI: Negotiations between protesters and the Clifton Board Cantonment (CBC) failed, a representative of the residents' committee said late Monday, after demonstrators gathered outside the board's office to voice their anger over the non-provision of basic amenities following the torrential August rains.

Speaking to the crowd gathered outside the CBC office, the woman representing the protesters told them the officials had not agreed to signing the demands on the board's letterhead.

Demonstrators consequently started dispersing from the site, vowing to return and protest outside the Defence Housing Authority's (DHA) office on Thursday.

Protesters presented their demands to the CBC office-bearers meeting inside, the representative had said earlier in the evening, lamenting, however, that the concerned citizens had not been made part of the negotiations.

Demand not to pay taxes 'for five years'

The CBC office-bearers were said to be meeting at their office after the crowd of protesters — comprising residents of the upscale DHA and Clifton — voiced their anger over the non-provision of necessities despite almost a week after the rains had subsided.

Early Monday evening, the woman representing the protest committee had announced that their demands had been presented to the CBC.

She added, however, that the demonstrators and the civilians had not been invited to join.

"We have demanded emergency be declared in the DHA and the CBC and that we will not pay taxes for five years," she had said.

Protesters, including women and children, had gathered here Monday noon, calling on the board to provide them an audit report of their performance and hold those responsible for not providing them basic amenities.

'Ghundagardi nahi chalegi!'

A large contingent of security officers, including police, were present on the site in order to prevent any untoward event.

The CBC had sealed the gates of its office ahead of the protest scheduled by residents of the area. However, demonstrators breached the premises of and tried to enter the office but were stopped by police.

Angry protesters held up placards and shouted slogans of "Go CBC Go!" and "Ghundagardi nahi chalegi [Thuggery won't be tolerated]" against the board.

The protesters are demanding the chief executive officer of the CBC to address them and listen to their grievances.

Calling for an improvement in the sewerage system, the protestors are also demanding that an audit of the flood relief tax collected by the CBC be shared with them and called on the board's members to be held accountable for the lack of amenities provided to them over the years.

They have also asked the CBC to improve garbage collection in the area.

The Citizens-Police Liaison Committee's (CPLC) former chief, Sharfuddin Memon, told media that the CBC's performance "is zero" and that "the institution must be fixed".

Read more: Karachi residents out on roads to protest against days-long power outage

"We pay the most taxes and our situation is the worst," Memon stated, adding that none of the streets or alleyways in Clifton and DHA had been cleared so far.

"People's houses and belongings have been destroyed," he added.

In a parallel development, residents of Karachi's Lines Area also staged a protest against the non-provision of basic utilities on Corridor-III — the route from Saddar's Empress Market and Malir.

The Corridor-III protests were being held over a lack of water, electricity, and proper sanitation facilities.

Protest planned on Facebook

Last night, a group formed on Facebook under the name of "Petition against DHA & CBC" had announced they would protest against the authorities of DHA and Clifton outside the CBC office for the" incompetence of DHA & CBC in providing basic living conditions".

The organisers had requested everyone to "remain peaceful at all times, not harm or hurt anyone, not damage any property and do not harm any plants or animals".

The group admins had clarified that neither do they "promote, recommend, encourage or incite any sort of violence, nor shall they be held accountable or responsible for any person's personal choices or acts in the Peaceful Protest."

The organisers had also clarified that the group was not affiliated with any political party.

DHA residents demand accountability

A list of demands have been put forward by DHA residents, which includes

• Return of tax money taken from them under the "Development Charges" head.
• The residents said they also wanted contractors and decision-makers held accountable for constructing "useless stormwater drains" from their funds.
• Immediate removal of these cement slabs in the middle of the roads with holes in them
• Removal of “charges “ and “ fees” on every kind of activity, approval and transaction inside our own homes
• Installation of sewage treatment plant immediately
• Stop the pollution from 150 million gallons of untreated effluent from DHA to be dumped directly into the sea
• Sharing of 10 years audit report so residents know how their tax money is being spent
• Stop reclaiming land from the sea for more housing without an infrastructure plan. This will increase further drainage/ sanitation problems
• Stop renting out empty plots for the storage of animals
• Separate area of storing of animals
• Designated Slaughterhouses
• New international standards drainage system to be installed immediately
• Immediate repair of broken sewerage lines and roads
• Hanging cables and telephone wires to go underground immediately
• All electricity poles to be earthed and every pole be issued safety certificate by DHA. Saving lives is a joint responsibility. All lives matter
• KESC statements to be taken seriously by DHA. “Non-KE wires on power distribution infrastructure, such as streetlights or TV, telephone or internet cables, are a major safety hazard, as they damage KE’s infrastructure and bypass safety protection mechanisms.”
• Beggars removed from every street signal
• All empty plots to be garbage-free (empty plots are the responsibility of DHA)
• No more paying for water. Remove the Tanker Mafia immediately. If hydrants can have unlimited water supply why can’t our houses?
• No construction on our beaches. Spend our money on our drainage system
• Make a proper system of debris removal and construction material spillover on our roads.
• All craters in roads due to rains to be attended immediately so as not to lead to more loss of life.
• Roads dug up for various utilities and left uncarpeted to warrant heavy fines to the contractors
• Stop bringing in officials from around the country to head key positions in DHA and CBC. Locals of the city to be appointed only

As the sixth spell of monsoon rain lashed Karachi on Thursday, several areas of the city, notable DHA, became flooded. Video clips on social media showed how several houses were flooded with rainwater as the area's stormwater drains failed to ensure water did not accumulate on the roads.

—Additional reporting by Qaseem Saeed in Karachi