CDGK to procure 26 new fire tenders, 21 road-sweeping vehicles

December 30, 2010
By Irfan Aligi

KARACHI: The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) Municipal Services Department (MSD) has planned to procure new fire tenders, road sweeping mobile vehicles. Daily Times has learnt.

The City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has asked the CDGK Finance Group of Offices to arrange for necessary funds in this regard while the CDGK MSD has already completed its preparations to float tenders inviting bids for the procurement of the required machinery.

It is a perplexed situation on behalf of the CDGK finance Group of offices to ensure the availability of the required funds especially when the financial deficit has escalated to Rs 590 million and the salaries of employees of the defunct Karachi Development Authority (KDA) and the defunct Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) have already been delayed as the CDGK still has a shortfall of Rs 120 million to disburse the salaries that come to Rs 600 million.

However, the CDGK MSD Executive District Officer Masood Alam told Daily Times that the funds required would be derived from the Annual Development Fund (ADP).
He further said that the CDGK has filed a compensation claim of Rs 77.7 million with Sindh government for a lump sum claim for the compensation of burnt vehicles, markets and injured CDGK personnel.

According to CDGK, there was an urgent need of Rs 2 billion to procure fire extinguishers as per city’s need especially after arson on M A Jinnah road when dozens of markets were gutted after a bomb went off on Muharram 10.

The CDGK has said that federal government should provide Rs 2 billion to CDGK to equip its fire department with the essentials or else the paucity of such machines would add to the problems.

It is pertinent to mention that CDGK was going to float tenders for the procurement of 26 new fire tenders and 21 road sweeping mobile vehicles while it has also started operation for fixing the mechanically flawed 24 fire extinguishers.

It is also worth mentioning that the City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal had recently appealed to president and prime minister for pecuniary assistance so that the situation after the Ashura arson could be addressed.