Sindh CM says poles left in Hyderabad road were part of planning
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has explained why electric poles were left in the middle of a Hyderabad road. He said 25 of 100 poles had been removed, while Daily Jang reported that all poles on the road are now gone.
- Murad Ali Shah said leaving the poles was part of planning.
- He said 25 of 100 poles have been removed.
- Daily Jang reported that all poles on the road have been removed.
- He said HESCO did not move the poles despite receiving money.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has responded to questions about electric poles left standing in the middle of a road in Hyderabad. Speaking in Karachi, he said that leaving the poles was part of the planning.
He said the chief secretary had arranged for land to be acquired from the cantonment board for the road. The Sindh government deposited money with HESCO, the power distribution company, but HESCO did not remove the poles, he said.
According to the chief minister, the government therefore decided to go ahead and build the road so that pressure would fall on HESCO. Traffic was then opened on the road, after which people began asking why the poles were in the middle of it.
Murad Ali Shah said 25 of the 100 poles had now been removed. Minute Mirror, however, gave a different figure in its report, putting the number of poles removed at 50 and describing the road as winding around them.
Later on Saturday, Daily Jang reported that all electric poles on the road from Qasimabad to Alamdar Chowk in Hyderabad had been removed. It said HESCO would complete its work by tomorrow.
The chief minister thanked the media and social media for their help. He said: "میڈیا اور سوشل میڈیا کا شکریہ جنہوں نے ہماری مدد کی کیونکہ وفاقی ادارے ہماری بات نہیں سنتے" (Murad Ali Shah, in Urdu). The line means that federal institutions do not listen to the provincial government.
He said completion of the road work would make things very easy for Hyderabad residents. He described the whole plan as a grand plan in which the media plays an important role.
Why it matters
Residents of Hyderabad who use the road have faced poles in the carriageway, which affects traffic and safety. The reported removal of the poles bears directly on how they travel.
